The Jan Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare, and Baba Ramdev

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 06 Jun 2011 09:35

so congress and Sonia wanted BRdev and AH to join BJP before they grow big and then tar them as combined as right wing fundamentalists.

explains the different paths they took for AH and BR.

pradeepe · Post by **pradeepe** » 06 Jun 2011 10:00

NikhilB wrote:
kmkraoind wrote:I am a strong supporter of Digvijaya Singh. Every time he opens his stinking mouth he is making people angry on Congress, good job. He is doing a great job even BJP cannot do, because they are communal. He is a Shakuni in Koruava party.
I am afriad this is not that simple. INC is playing good cop, bad cop game. Sonia, MMS and Youraj are good cop, they speak all humanity and glorious ideals. Digvijay Singh, now replacing Arjun singh, plays bad cop, and targets specific sector.
..

Spot on IMHO. Diggi's role is very clear. Mod Op...identify threat, if it has potential, target threat to respond and wrestle with him in the mud. One might win taking him on, but as they say, wrestling in mud with a pig tends to make one not very presentable and by then the head has maken a clean getaway. A lizard's tail has the same purpose.

Vikas · Post by **Vikas** » 06 Jun 2011 10:06

Funny how everyone thinks that public memory is short and when they are kicked out of office as MuKa and Commie goons (from WB) got to know, they start looking for excuses which make no sense. Some of these political goons are thrown out forever like Lalu's and Mullah yadav's and Gowda's of the day.
Still every one thinks that they can make fool of the mango public in 4.75 years of the rule and then shed croc tears.

If Kan-gress & UPA won after 26/11, it was lack of credible opposition (not sure about the EVM part) and not lack of long term memory by us. After all, unlike politicians who can criticize every plan,strategy or vision without giving out alternate path, Voting public has to chose between a corrupt idiot , useless incompetent bumbling fool and anti-national corrupt Idiot.

sum · Post by **sum** » 06 Jun 2011 10:14

^^ If the same midnight action had been taken by fascist regimes like in K'taka or Gujarat, wouldn't we have had presidents rule within 3-4 hours of the action?

munna · Post by **munna** » 06 Jun 2011 10:29

This is Singur of Congress. Period

sum · Post by **sum** » 06 Jun 2011 10:39

^^ I wouldnt think so, Munnaji...BRF has been mentioning each incident as the last blow for UPA etc from last few years. Earlier, tiranga yatra and RJM judgement was touted as the thing to break UPA/pseudo-secularism.

But, as we know, nothing happened and UPA stayed as strong as earlier. Am sure even this incident will be forgotten with 2 weeks, IMHO.

Airavat · Post by **Airavat** » 06 Jun 2011 10:49

Supreme Court asks Government to explain the midnight attack on Baba

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 06 Jun 2011 11:01

Tanaji wrote:Sadly, expecting anything from the BJP is in vain.The INC has proved that it can run rings around the BJP in terms of strategy and realpolitik while BJP comes across as a party running around as headless chickens

+10 to this. Infact I dont think so BJP (or NDA or what ever) will come to power any time soon in India. The whole BJP gang seems to be in a total disarray, so much so that I dont even any noise from their side. Soon people would lose faith in them, and starts ignoring them. The present leadership of BJP seems to be clueless, or perhaps there is some deal worked out with the INC (You scratch my back, I scratch yours types...).

shiv wrote:Ramdev's meeting has been dealt with by GoI using more force than anything used against Pakistani terrorists.

Maharashtra state police and Railway Protection Force showed its skills in planning and execution, when they managed to turn around a whole train and send RSS activists back all the way to Bangalore. Delhi police, executed the eviction of Baba Ramdev and his followers in a clean operation (conducted at an odd time at night). The only question to ask, is with so good planners and executors will the police be able to work the same way for the common folks?

.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Jun 2011 11:11

OT for this thread: the bjp has only one chance for turning around its sinking fortunes. appoint N.Modi as its chief. sure the kangress will go to town about hitler arising from the grave again, but I am sure N.Modi's track record in gujarat will sound better than the non-record of any of the current hasthis in bjp top echelon.

else its going to devolve into a bunch of state level satrapies....without a rajadhiraj in magadha to tie them all into one fabric.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 06 Jun 2011 11:23

^^^

Again Ot but what if Nitish merges with the BJP. He can over the next 5 years do wonders for NDA nation wide. If NM is not acceptable to the rest of the gang.

Tamang · Post by **Tamang** » 06 Jun 2011 11:40

I don't think Nitish will merge his party to BJP. But yes, time has come for BJP to catapult NM to the national scene. He is not getting any younger, this is the time to do it if at all.

BTW, yesterday it was a pro-Cong show on IBN. Bhupendra Chobey, Vinod Sharma, Shabnam Hashmi (Sis of Safdar Hashmi who was murdered by Congressmen incidently) and Rajdeep Sardesai.

Raghavendra · Post by **Raghavendra** » 06 Jun 2011 12:10

Anna Hazare flays attack on Ramdev, will sit on fast again at Jantar Mantar http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/NAT-TO ... 63274.html

New Delhi: Gandhian activist Anna Hazare, who had gone on a hunger strike in April, on Sunday said he would undertake a day's fast here on June 8 (Wednesday) to put pressure on the government to act against corruption.

“We have decided that we will organise a day's fast on June 8,” Hazare told a news conference here and urged Indians across the country to follow suit.

"Wherever you may be, you may stage a fast. And pray to god to give wisdom to this government."

Hazare, whose five-day fast here in April forced the government to set up a panel to draft a Lokpal bill, also denounced the police crackdown on yoga guru Ramdev and the eviction of thousands of his supporters from here.

"We condemn this action. This is a blot on humanity," he said. "This is like throttling democracy."

Saying protests were allowed in a democracy, he said the police attack on the mass of sleeping protesters at Ramlila ground at night was highly condemnable.

Hazare said the government did not appear to be serious in eradicating corruption.

"They don't want all government officers to come under the purview of the Lokpal bill. Why? Is there not corruption at the lower level?

"It seems they don't want to end corruption... It is necessary for people all over the country to stand up for a corruption-free India."

Anna to boycott Lokpal panel meeting

Hazare also said that he and his team of civil society members in the Lokpal Bill joint drafting committee will boycott the next meeting to be held June 6.

“Government is not serious about drafting an effective Lokpal Bill. There are issues of disagreement between the government and the draft committee,” Hazare said.

Apart from Hazare, civil society members in the committee include activist Arvind Kejriwal, former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde, former law minister Shanti Bhushan, who is the panel's co-chairman, and his son Prashant Bhushan.

From the government's side, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is the co-chairman and the other members are Home Minister P Chidambaram, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, Law Minister M Veerappa Moily and Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

Ramlila Maidan crackdown: Time to teach government a lesson, says Anna Hazare http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/NAT-TO ... html?HT1a=

New Delhi: Reacting strongly against the police crackdown on Baba Ramdev's Satyagrah at Ramlila Maidan, Gandhian activist Anna Hazare said that the action was undemocratic.

Hazare said, "To protest is not a crime. It only strengthens democracy."

He said, there might be some shortcomings in Ramdev's movements but such an action was uncalled for. He asked, but what was the need to send police at night and beat up people.

Hazare added that it was a peaceful movement and beating innocent people, including women and children, is unacceptable.

He said that this act is a blot on Indian democracy.

Hazare, whose own five-day fast in April had forced the government to announce a panel to frame a Lokpal bill, said people all over the country should protest the way Ramdev was forced to end his fast.

"All the people should protest. Don't look for support from political parties. The future movement should be so big that the government should be taught a lesson."

'Ramdev Arrested' is second most searched item on Internet, says Google http://daily.bhaskar.com/article/NAT-TO ... 63233.html

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 06 Jun 2011 12:13

sunnyP wrote:http://www.ndtv.com/video/player/ndtv-s ... /201730?hp

@ 4.35 Mani Shanker Ayer compares Baba Ramdev to Hitler. (and again at 09.50)

What cedibility does that prostitute going b astard have?

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 06 Jun 2011 12:23

The government has lost all credibility on the anti-corruption issue. MMS and Sonia no longer have the aura of 'sacrifice' in the minds of the common people. Of course, they never had this aura in our minds, but now the cat is completely out of the bag.

This will have repurcussions far beyond the near term. This is Sonia's Bofors scandal. Just like RG could never recover his credibility after the Bofors scandal, SG will not recover after this - no matter how many times she 'gives up' the PM's chair now.

The use of excessive force and the pictures will haunt the public mind for a long time.

----------

There was no need to use so many (~6000) policemen, nor was there any need to go in at 1:30 AM in the morning, nor was there any need to use lathi charge against sleeping people. If anything, this shows that the gobermund is in panic mode. They did not have to use violence but they did - there is a fascist streak in their decision making and we all know where that is coming from.

The imbeciles running congress these days have made the BRD protest even more successful by making a martyr out of him.

munna · Post by **munna** » 06 Jun 2011 12:25

sum wrote:^^ I wouldnt think so, Munnaji...BRF has been mentioning each incident as the last blow for UPA etc from last few years. Earlier, tiranga yatra and RJM judgement was touted as the thing to break UPA/pseudo-secularism.

But, as we know, nothing happened and UPA stayed as strong as earlier. Am sure even this incident will be forgotten with 2 weeks, IMHO.

Well I for one do not have touching faith in BJP as exhibited by a lot of other posters and I bet that NaMo is not the best guy for PM position within the party, but that debate is for some other day.
The key reason behind BJP's electoral reverses is only one and that is loss of OBC and MBC votes due to fratricidal decimation of leaders in Hindi cow belt especially UP. 2012 is not far and if this issue is used well then Ramdev can be the new OBC mascot, he has good organizers and able faces in his team. Must say his turnout was impressive and word on the street is very interesting to hear. Not for nothing did government panic like it did.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 06 Jun 2011 12:29

the BJP also lost massively in last election when its allies in TN and AP got a drubbing. in TN and AP its never a 50:50 verdict, the pendulum swings alternately in X or Y axis very strongly into the endpoint. back the right horse and one gets 100 seats , else one could easily get <10.

abhischekcc · Post by **abhischekcc** » 06 Jun 2011 12:30

BRD calling out Sonia as the person responsible for this attack, and saying that should something happen to him, Sonia should be held responsible - this is the kind of attack she will face in the coming days.

I read the news that the house of the uber lap dog Dogvijay singh was attacked.

He was the one who tried to intimidate BRD by saying that 'Baba, tujhe pata nahin hai, sarkar mein kitna power hai' (Baba, you do not know how much power the government has)

------------
Only when these people are individually attacked will they realise the anger of the people. BRD has not created the revulsion against corruption in the people of India, he has merely given voice to it.

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 06 Jun 2011 13:05

Sedition charge against doggie admitted by a local court in MP for calling BRD a fraud!

And some noise coming from somebody's mouthpiece in Mumbai - "if foreigner Sonia can join politics, so can Ramdev."

SRoy · Post by **SRoy** » 06 Jun 2011 14:18

abhischekcc wrote: There was no need to use so many (~6000) policemen, nor was there any need to go in at 1:30 AM in the morning

Gestapo styled raids. Very obvious.

Samudragupta · Post by **Samudragupta** » 06 Jun 2011 14:48

It is the right time BRD take out the Gandhi out of the Congress party.....He has already taken out the Satyagraha..and Jallianwallabagh...the next step could be "Dandi March" in the entire north India....

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 06 Jun 2011 14:58

That may just drive this GOI nuts and impose emergency again. It will be fun to watch.

Samudragupta · Post by **Samudragupta** » 06 Jun 2011 15:05

But what could b the right route for such march...It seems UP is out of Bound...i feel Maharastra and Rajasthan may be the right starting point...

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 06 Jun 2011 15:21

Hmm.......

Intersteing that the Maya govt banned him from entering UP.

sunnyP · Post by **sunnyP** » 06 Jun 2011 16:13

Pratyush wrote:Hmm.......

Intersteing that the Maya govt banned him from entering UP.

Well where do we think Mayawati's money is stashed away? Mayawati facilitating an anti corruption rally is like the Pope allowing the Vatican to host an anti child abuse movement.

Dilbu · Post by **Dilbu** » 06 Jun 2011 16:42

NaMo says he would have gone to Delhi and fought a war if he was not tied down due to CM duties. Unleash the kraken I say!

madhu · Post by **madhu** » 06 Jun 2011 16:56

amidst all the sad news there is a good news also.
Congress spokes person was shoed in press conference

AjayKK · Post by **AjayKK** » 06 Jun 2011 17:04

The brutal crackdown on Baba Ramdev's agitation indicates the fear in the minds of the present setup in Delhi. Afetr this Baba Ramdev must immediately secure himself and must not move towards Delhi. Since his is a single-leader movement, his "swift removal" will dissipate the movement and dis-orient his followers. He will be recreating the same historical mistakes that have been done before when individuals have marched towards the capital region, but were either entangled in the mess or could never recover again. As such, even geographically, the acess to Delhi is via Harayana or Rajasthan or UP, where Congress or pro-Congress governments will deny him any chance to go to Delhi. Baba Ramdev and his key aides must realise that the road to Delhi is by encircling it and not para-dropping into it.

Now that he is secure, he must create a strong second level of leadership, which in his absence can direct the volunteers and run the organisation. He must brace for more brutal crackdown by law and order agencies and prepare for it. Temporarily, he must stop his country-wide yatra, as he would be at a risk of being harmed in any state. It would not be difficult to orchestrate an attack in a BJP ruled state and add to the chaos.

Vote bank and Note bank politics follows law of diminishing equity, else incumbent governments would always regain power. The allies of the UPA are its fair-weather friends who would not want to be seen having anything to do with this Emergency-era action. They would do better to play the imagery of the daughter of the CM of an ally having 16 MPs going to Tihar, even if for a few weeks.

The Congress first allowed Baba Ramdev to carry out the agitation, sent four ministers to meet him and later began the midnight crackdown. This is the Abhimanyu-Jayadratha moment for the Party. While Abhimanyu was brutally killed in the Chakravyuha, it set in motion the defeat of the Kauravas. Foolishly, stuck in the mindset of the 70s, the Party cabal ordered a midnight crackdown on women, children and the elderly who had come in from all parts of India. This is apparently no different from the attack on the S-6 of the Sabarmati in 2002 at Godhra which set into motion a process where Gujarat assembly is electorally out of bounds for the Congress. Strong empires which appear incapable of being defeated make such mistakes which ultimately becomes the cause of their undoing. By cracking down on the thousands of people at Ramlila Maidan, the Party has set the ball rolling for an irreversible process of change in governance which would happen via the electorate at the opportune moment.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 06 Jun 2011 17:09

madhu wrote:amidst all the sad news there is a good news also.
Congress spokes person was shoed in press conference

I watched it live on TimesNow. To me it looks completely stagemanaged. This some guy from unknown newspaper is very close to podium. He lifts his chappal but there was almost 45 seconds and he is too close to Dwivedi and if he is real he could have easily slapped Dwivedi. Instead he got up and said something and was waiting. Meanwhile, slowly security men came and hauled him.

Stage managed.Period. The visuals are extremely obvious. As this fellow is from a hindi news papers he will be an RSS ideolouge and hence RSS, Baba etc are militiants of India. This is the line that Mr.Dwivedi already alluded as the last statement of the interview.

AjayKK · Post by **AjayKK** » 06 Jun 2011 17:15

Muppalla wrote: Stage managed.Period. The visuals are extremely obvious. As this fellow is from a hindi news papers he will be an RSS ideolouge and hence RSS, Baba etc are militiants of India. This is the line that Mr.Dwivedi already alluded as the last statement of the interview.

Muppalla, sometimes stage-managed events tend to acquire a life of their own.

Muppalla · Post by **Muppalla** » 06 Jun 2011 17:21

AjayKK wrote:Muppalla, sometimes stage-managed events tend to acquire a life of their own.

I understand what you saying from your above posts. However, these days I am extremely cautious in conclusions as I have seen Delhi congress landslide after Mumbai blasts. That one event makes me cautious and also makes me to search for devils and strategies inside INC's methods inside their madness. I always take it as calculated madness though it looks like 70s and 80s redux. I hope you are right.

sum · Post by **sum** » 06 Jun 2011 17:29

Mupalla-ji, just re-posting a article on INC thought process ( from deccanherald):

They added: “Even if it did (have some impact), it would be temporary. We are happy, BJP and its right-wing organisations are fully behind Ramdev. Finally, the BJP-Baba may come together. It is easy to counter and handle BJP than either Ramdev or civil society”.
Why the police action? “First of all, we have the mandate to rule. We have often been criticised for being weak. How many times we should be seen as surrendering? Still, we always took decisions which were most deserving. The current controvery will fizzle out” sources said.

Congress insiders dismissed possibilities of any long-term political implications. “There will be no impact. The Baba may be popular in UP, which is going to the polls next year, but it will have no fall-out. Yes, there may be further consolidation of BJP and right-wing organisation but we are not worried about it,” they explained.

So, basically INC has calculated that public memory is short and this is just a passing phase.

madhu · Post by **madhu** » 06 Jun 2011 17:36

I do not believe "shoeing" is stage managed by cong. this will only put kang ress has bad light.

brihaspati · Post by **brihaspati** » 06 Jun 2011 17:42

Muppalla wrote:
AjayKK wrote:Muppalla, sometimes stage-managed events tend to acquire a life of their own.
I understand what you saying from your above posts. However, these days I am extremely cautious in conclusions as I have seen Delhi congress landslide after Mumbai blasts. That one event makes me cautious and also makes me to search for devils and strategies inside INC's methods inside their madness. I always take it as calculated madness though it looks like 70s and 80s redux. I hope you are right.

There are very strong biz tie-ups and interests in Delhi, and in other "suspect" metros and long serious investments into Congress. 26/11 type incidents will simply be occasions for entrenched biz interests to negotiate for further concessions from the Cong in return for continued electoral management.

munna · Post by **munna** » 06 Jun 2011 18:11

brihaspati wrote:
There are very strong biz tie-ups and interests in Delhi, and in other "suspect" metros and long serious investments into Congress. 26/11 type incidents will simply be occasions for entrenched biz interests to negotiate for further concessions from the Cong in return for continued electoral management.

Astute! Hence I have few expectations from any step by BJP including catapulting NaMo to national scene. With all efforts and hard work in metros there is little scope for better performance as this section has benefited the max from crony capitalist loot of INC. Infact this segment of society tacitly supports corruption.

The only scope for improvement and a massive one at that for rashtravadis lies in the countryside or the MBC/OBC sector as proved by Bihar, Gujairat and Chattisgarh.

BRD being an OBC and a rashtravadi at that is a serious threat that was to be countered by cong. He has the potential to float a backward caste outfit catering to rashavadi mainstream and defeat all the left and cong aligned backward caste regional outfits in cow belt. Primarily in UP he should establish a party and organization to defeat or co-opt the allies of left loonies in power today.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 06 Jun 2011 18:41

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 746038.cms

NEW DELHI: Civil society activists led by Anna Hazare on Monday boycotted the meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill saying government's intentions raised serious doubts about having a strong anti-corruption watchdog and protesting against the police crackdown on Ramdev.

The activists have also sought rescheduling of the next meeting of the JDC on June 10 to some other date because of some prior engagements of Hazare.

After a meeting of the activists, Shanti Bhushan, the co-chair of the panel, wrote a letter to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, chairman of JDC, saying the government desires to practically leave everyone out of Lokpal's ambit--Prime Minister, horse trading of MPs, middle and lower bureaucracy judiciary.

He said there was divergence even on the vision of Lokpal and if the government's stand is accepted, Lokpal would be left to investigate the corruption of only 300-odd officers and ministers.

"This is government's vision for Lokpal," the letter said.

The letter criticized the "casual and frivolous" manner in which the government had prepared the questionnaire to the chief ministers and the political parties which has been commented upon by them also.

Referring to the mid-night crackdown on Baba Ramdev and his followers and other issues, Bhushan said "all these developments have raised doubts in our mind whether the government was at all interested in containing corruption and having a strong Lokpal bill.

"However, what happened on Saturday night in Ramlila Maidan has strengthened our doubts. All these developments have raised doubts about government's intention and so we are not attending today's meeting."

The next meeting is scheduled on June 10. Hazare has prior engagements from June 9-11. "So we request rescheduling of that meeting," Bhushan said.

While waiting for government's response, he cautioned that time was running out and the committee was yet to finalise the basic principles behind the bill.

AjayKK · Post by **AjayKK** » 06 Jun 2011 18:41

Rajbala Devi, 51 is critical after she was hit with lathis at the midnight attack on people at the Ramlila grounds.

http://ibnlive.in.com/videos/157135/ram ... kdown.html

Pranav · Post by **Pranav** » 06 Jun 2011 18:41

Muppalla wrote: I understand what you saying from your above posts. However, these days I am extremely cautious in conclusions as I have seen Delhi congress landslide after Mumbai blasts. That one event makes me cautious and also makes me to search for devils and strategies inside INC's methods inside their madness. I always take it as calculated madness though it looks like 70s and 80s redux. I hope you are right.

Subramaniam Swamy estimates that Congress gained an advantage of about 70 Lok Sabha seats by EVM rigging.

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 06 Jun 2011 18:45

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 748946.cms

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Monday criticised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying he had failed to discharge his duty. He also justified wearing woman's clothes to escape during the police crackdown in Delhi's Ramlila Ground, saying like warrior king Shivaji he too had adopted survival tactics.

"I have all the respect for the Prime Minister of the country on a personal level, but he did not discharge his national duty," Ramdev told reporters here a day after Delhi Police acted against him and his supporters during his fast against corruption and forced him back to his ashram here.

He justified wearing women's clothes to disguise himself.

"I preferred to adopt the survival tactics of warrior king Shivaji and wearing a woman's attire is not a sign of weakness. A woman gives birth to a man and her status is superior," he said.

Ramdev also thanked the Supreme Court for its notice to the central and Delhi governments on the developments after Saturday midnight, and said the National Human Rights Commission and the National Commission for Women too should follow suit.

"The cognisance taken by Supreme Court on its own against this injustice, we thank (it) from our hearts. The entire country is grateful," Ramdev said.

Taking suo motu cognisance of the matter, the apex court Monday asked the central and the Delhi governments to reply to its notices within two weeks.

Ramdev said his supporters were planning to move the NHRC and the NCW over the incidents of Saturday midnight in which "atrocities were committed against women and children".

He also contradicted Delhi Police's version of events. "The Delhi Police are lying. They beat up people. They said that people were injured in a stampede. None of our workers provoked violence."

"If (Mahatma) Gandhi was alive, he would have cried," Ramdev said.

But Ramdev said except the Congress, all other political parties "are supporting me and they are supporting me from their hearts. I am getting support from everywhere, including spiritual and religious organisations".

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 06 Jun 2011 18:54

http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?272111

Citizen Cane Vs King Canute
No one’s buying the government’s desperate arguments to keep the prime minister above Lokpal scrutiny
SAIKAT DATTA

Points Of Friction
Government and civil society representatives have sparred on the question of including the prime minister in the proposed Lokpal Bill on seven key grounds:

* Point: The Prime Minister is accountable only to Parliament, and to the people of India

Counterpoint: Does this mean a PM can never face action for criminal liability,
however serious the charge, especially given the experience of two former PMs?

* Bringing PM under Lokpal will invite a flood of frivolous charges that will erode his moral authority to govern

Only President enjoys blanket immunity; complaints against PM will be vetted by a full bench of the multi-member Lokpal before being processed

* The PM’s functioning will be hobbled if the Lokpal watches his every move

The Lokpal will only sit in judgement over his non-executive actions. The PM will otherwise be free to run his government and make decisions.

* The image of the country will be affected if the PM is constantly investigated for corruption

The fact that all are equal in the eyes of the law and that even the PM can be subjected to criminal investigation will enhance nation’s stature

* If a Lokpal becomes all-powerful, it will create a constitutional crisis; there has to be separation of powers

In theory, the CBI or income-tax department can start an investigation against the PM. But how fair is the probe likely to be, when those departments come under the PM

* There’s no provision for President’s rule at the Centre. If a PM is forced to step down, the government will be headless.

It is the President’s job, as mandated by the Constitution, to ensure that the government runs smoothly. If the PM has to quit, it is the President’s task to find a replacement.

Who can investigate the PM if he is suspected of being corrupt? What if this “blanket immunity” ensures that all acts of corruption will be routed through him and will not be investigated? What if the PM kept all major portfolios with him when his immunity would provide protection to all acts of corruption in the ministries that he handles?

On their part, the government’s nominees pointed out that if the PM was included in the bill, then it would completely hobble him and severely erode his authority to lead the executive. “What if there are numerous frivolous complaints against the PM sponsored by opposition parties? Would that be desirable for the smooth functioning of the government,” Union human resources development minister Kapil Sibal countered. The PM, it was also pointed out, was chosen by a democratic process that also ensured his integrity. His accountability therefore should be solely to the people or Parliament.

There was more: Sibal said not only was the government keen to keep the PM out, it also wanted MPs, the judiciary, the armed forces and the Election Commission to be kept out of the bill’s purview (see following story). With temperatures rising on both sides, the non-government members of the drafting committee finally decided to end the meeting. If this was to go forward, some points would clearly have to be negotiated harder.
A day later, the government resumed its efforts to keep the PM out of the Lokpal’s ambit, but broadened its strategy. Sibal and P. Chidambaram hurriedly called a press conference to try and mitigate the PR damage. They also began a more subtle strategy to try and exploit the divisions among the civil society members on the committee. Simultaneously, a strategy was carefully worked out to highlight yoga guru Baba Ramdev’s support for the PM and judiciary’s exclusion. They also worked on a few legal luminaries to hold seminars pointing out the “lacunae” in the provisions suggested by the non-government members and use these pronouncements to erode their position. But what the government lacked then and continues to lack now are sound legal arguments to support such an immunity. Both Chidambaram and Sibal declined to be interviewed for this story.

But here were some key questions that clearly warrant the PM’s inclusion in the Lokpal Bill. Can the CBI, which is directly under him, be the right agency to investigate any serious complaint? If it isn’t, then who can investigate a charge of corruption against the PM? Interestingly, the Constitution provides no blanket immunity to the PM. Wouldn’t his exclusion from such a bill create a backdoor amendment of the Constitution for all practical purposes? Legal experts argue that if everyone is equal before the law, then why should the PM be given special status?

“Where in the world do you see such blanket immunity given to the chief executive in democracies,” asks Arvind Kejriwal, a member of the committee and a key personality in the Lokpal movement. “If US presidents have faced investigations, then what stops us from investigating the Indian PM?” Kejriwal also points out that such a “fractured mandate” to investigate corruption has never worked in any part of the world. “The government is essentially stating that it will use the CBI for low-level corruption and the PM, the Lokpal for high-level corruption minus the PM and the CVC for all else. This is the most absurd situation we can imagine.”

Pranay · Post by **Pranay** » 06 Jun 2011 19:10

http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?272120

Ham-Handed Handling
The PM should address the nation, exercise his personal leadership, stop unwise and potentially provocative statements from partymen and make it clear that he would not brook any interference in this matter.
B. RAMAN

The government and the Congress (I)) due to their inability to think lucidly and act convincingly and meaningfully have landed themselves in a messy situation with likely negative consequences.

The first step for getting out of this mess is to convince the public that they have taken note of its anger and are serious about dealing with this issue. The Prime Minister should address the nation, exercise his personal leadership, keep the ministers and party spokesmen under control instead of making highly unwise and potentially provocative statements and make it clear to the party and Mrs Sonia Gandhi that he would not brook any interference in this matter. He should make it clear that he would be prepared to quit as the PM if there was any interference.