When 30K turn up spontaneously against corruption, politicians better worry-31 January 2011

When 30K turn up spontaneously against corruption, politicians better worry

Rajesh Kalra

31 January 2011, 01:09 PM IST



I was at the march against corruption rally organised by Arvind Kejriwal’s ‘India Against Corruption’ organisation in central Delhi yesterday. It was a delightful winter noon with a gentle sun and a soothing breeze. The real icing on the cake, however, was the unbelievable crowd that had shown up on a Sunday afternoon.



In a country where increasingly we see crowds gather with great difficulty unless it’s a cricket match. Where almost every politician, save a few, has to necessarily orchestrate paid crowds involving buses to ferry them and inducing them with food, liquor, even money, for their rallies and still find few takers, the number of 30 thousand spontaneous crowd was heartening.



And what a congregation it was! School children, college students; I saw a few with IIT Delhi jackets, doctors, lawyers, armymen, housewives, simple villagers from districts around Delhi, nuns, sisters, pundits, gurus, were all there. Even the Delhi police constables on duty were helpful with one of them remarking to me – sab achche kaam ke liye aaye hain (All have come for a good cause).



I have little doubt that this spontaneous show of strength would have made the political class uneasy, more so with them witnessing the events unfolding in Tunisia and Egypt. While it may be too early to predict a similar uprising in India, for I think we are intrinsically far more stable and also patient, but my gut feel is that the way things are moving in this nation, the political class certainly cannot take things for granted any more.



The way people lapped up what was being spoken there was surprising, and at one level scary too. The no-holds barred speeches by the likes of Prashant and Shanti Bhushan, Ram Jethmalani, Medha Patkar, religious gurus and a bevy of others was something not heard at a public rally in a long time. Medha Patkar, especially, was devastating in her observations about the industrialists-political nexus.



The clear articulation of how most of our so called anti-corruption laws and bodies are useless, by the father and son activist lawyers duo of Prashant and Shanti Bhushan, too had everyone asking for more. That was followed by Arvind Kejriwal demonstrating how even the new probity bill being contemplated - Lok Pal - will be nothing but an attempt to pull wool over everybody’s eyes. I had discussed this in an earlier post (Don’t let up against corruption). Basically, all these so called bodies are made defunct by the babu-politician (and perhaps industrial lobbies) nexus even before they take wing by making them toothless. All of them have mere recommendatory powers and no more. Little wonder, therefore, that all their observations are treated by the powers that be with supreme contempt.



But as I said, if the mood in the gathering is any indication, all those who have been getting away with the loot of the nation, riding on the current toothless mechanism in place, need to worry.



The people of this nation are fed up of the platitudes being served by the rulers and administrators day in and day out. They are aware of the loot and plunder that is going on in the name of the poor. The Swiss bank account information is being actively pursued by an almost activist Supreme Court, as is the information on several other issues of public interest. We are all witness to growing anarchy. None can forget the burning alive of a senior government officer in Manmad by the oil mafia that indulged in fuel adulteration. The list of such brazen acts is growing at an alarming pace. Not reacting or taking it easy is no longer an option.



As a speaker at the rally extolled the gathering yesterday, we should now tell all political parties that we need genuine moves to curtail corruption and bring this country to some order. We need to ask them if they support the new probity law that empowers action against the looters. Only if we have unequivocal support from them that they are with us in this in right earnest can they seek our votes, else we will look elsewhere.



The message has to go across to as many as possible. On the Internet , there is a Facebook page called India Against Corruption (http://www.facebook.com/IndiACor?ref=ts&v=wall). We should all go there and register our protest and speak our mind. Let there be pressure points all around, so that those who have always escaped unscathed in their loot of the nation so far are made aware that their days are numbered.



Here is to a corruption free India.