Open Letter to Team Anna

 

Dear Mr Kejriwal,

Let me first congratulate you for bringing into limelight the deep seated anger and resentment of a vast majority of people in this country, to everyday scams and the growing corruption creeping into our society. However as Annaji has said this has only been a half victory and much more has yet to be done.

Let me also compliment you for your initiative, hard work, great effort and an honest devotion to the cause of eradicating this cancer from our society. The nation will remain ever grateful to you for this achievement.

Annaji has demonstrated to the nation how those constitutionally elected representatives of the people, running a Govt. of the people and for the people,  can be so unconcerned about & so ignorant of such widespread sentiment of  people’s revulsion against graft.

Having said that may I  ask you a few questions

We do appreciate that a people’s movement was necessary to dispel this Govt’s arrogance of self righteousness in dealing with public issues? We also agree that you rightly organized Anna’s first fast to highlight the issue. But then when the Govt. agreed to discuss the issue with you, should you have confined the discussions to your team and your draft only? Should only your draft be treated as the Civil Society’s bill? Should you not have broad based your team by including other members of the civil society who had also worked on a similar draft bill? Could you not then have arrived at a real Jan Lokpal Bill with a much wider acceptability of Civil Society?

How could a small group of Team Anna arrogate to itself the spokesman ship for all citizens and call only their draft as ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’. Does this not go against what you are yourself telling the people about the elected representatives of this country? I hope you appreciate the huge public turnout at Anna’s fast displayed public anger against corruption, not an endorsement of your version of the bill.  Can arrogance on one side be neutralized by counter arrogance on the other?

You rightly found Govt’s approach unhelpful and therefore broke off the negotiations. You did have disagreement with the Govt. on some vital issues. Don’t you think overemphasis on the issue of bringing the PM as also the higher Judiciary overshadowed the other more vital issues like selection of the Lokpal, his  accountability,  financial & administrative independence, transfer of CBI’s corruption investigative wing  under him etc.? As a consequence public discussion in the media got confined to these two issues only.

Annaji’s second fast started with a demand that the Jan Lokpal Bill, in the form of your draft, must be passed by the Parliament within its present Monsoon session. Did you not know that this demand impinges upon the sovereign jurisdiction of the legislature as provided in the Constitution? Did you not appreciate that while pleading for independence of the Lokpal, you wanted to trample upon the independence of Legislature as provided in the Constitution? Was it your intention to chastise the present set of elected representatives sitting on the treasury benches or to challenge the sovereign prerogative of the Parliament as well?

You did show some accommodation during discussions with the Govt as also leaders of the opposition. Don’t you think if other members of Civil Society were also included in the earlier discussions with the Govt., and with the spirit of accommodation now shown in agreeing to some modifications in your draft, your present negotiating position would have been much stronger, leading perhaps to the passage of the Bill within this session itself?

You have included public grievances along with complaints of corruption in the functions of Jan Lokpal. While the need for a strong Lokpal to check corruption in high places is without doubt necessary in today’s environment, do you think remedial action on public grievances, a purely executive function, should also be taken away from the purview of a Constitutionally provided Executive, and given to an authority outside the chain of administrative command and beyond the control of Parliament? Do you think a selected body outside the framework of democracy can be more responsive to public needs and sentiments than an elected body? Can managerial weaknesses be overcome only with heavier sticks?

Do you realize what will be the impact of your proposals on the field administrative machinery? Principles of sound management are based on the premise that a Manager has a right to manage. You can’t improve managerial efficiency by systematically emasculating the Management. Field Management in the Govt is suffering already due to a systematic usurpation of managerial powers from the management. Its planning functions are controlled by one agency, financial independence by another, disciplinary authority is already greatly diluted and now external agencies will be provided with powers, not to remedy the shortcomings of management, but to punish their staff. Will this situation increase or decrease public grievances?

Your bill provides for settling of vigilance cases within one year. It also provides for appointment of special judges for the purpose; to be provided by the Govt. in adequate numbers as per demand of the Lokpal. Now if the time schedule laid down in your bill  is overshot for paucity of  judges, for which Lokpal is dependent upon the Govt.,  will the Lokpal be prepared for punishment of its staff by the Executive for not adhering to its advertised schedule?

Has the setting up of external Vigilance organizations, eliminated or even reduced corruption in the bureaucracy? If not, should we not proceed cautiously in the matter and watch performances before going ahead with a gargantuan organization? If there is a need for a Lokpal outside the framework of present Governmental set up, it is primarily to correct the present position where people in high places are found to indulge in corruption and by virtue of their position also control the State’s machinery engaged in investigation of such crimes not only against them but also against those who do their bidding. Will it not be more fruitful to initially confine the Lokpal and Lokayuktas to this singular function and to start with a lean and clean organization?

Yours’ truly

N.C.Gupta

B-19, Anand Vihar,

Delhi 110 092

e-mail: N.C.GUPTA-at-HOTMAIL.COM

Mobile: 9868384630