Anna and Arvind Being Empowered to Destroy Democracy

In the most recent public appearance by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal, there are some disturbing messages to be read between the lines. Not only is Anna and his team getting bolder, it is also starting to show its true shade of autocracy gradually, as had been predicted by many during the fast against corruption or shall we call it the fast for their version of the bill, nothing more.

In the most recent statement Arvind Kejriwal with a misguided sense of confidence claimed that Anna was above the parliament, and as a cover up he added that so was every citizen of this nation. Now firstly none of us are above the parliament, in fact we are the parliament, since we elect our representatives for governance and administration. Hence for anyone to be above the parliament is being above the people of this country. Secondly, without dwelling into the trivial issues of the statement, one must realize that earlier Anna and Arvind had claimed openly that they would accept the parliament’s decision as the final one.  

But this sudden change of stance was predicted by many. Especially by those who understand the reaction of publicity addicts. Amidst the already existing confusion that an unworthy opposition has been causing in our nation, the Anna challenge to protest against the congress and the entire UPA is only an insult to the people. Are the people not smart enough to decide for themselves whom to vote for? Do we really need self proclaimed authority of people like Anna and Arvind, who are so lost in their stance that they consider themselves above the highest interpreter and maker of law, the parliament?

I must mention that Anna team has also literally blackmailed the BJP, by claiming to protests against them if they withdraw support. I wonder what phase our nation is going through, where demands have been decided upon without reason. The extents to which sides are willing to go to push their choice to reality are beyond democracy and morality.

The entire move has been timed by Anna and Arvind in context of the elections that are to be held in five states next year. Considering basic analysis, the using of the time before elections, the boastful and confident claim of being above the parliament, and blackmail to force support are all clear signs of a non democratic functioning. For such things to be happening in our country is a saddening incident. We the people must speak up against this, in fact BJP and Congress both should be firm and must remove this Anna team from the picture. The president has already confirmed that the government is keen on passing an ombudsman bill.

Anna and Arvind do not realize simple things like a combination of the best. Why push so hard for their version. Well because they want to be a part of history famously. If selflessly they really wanted change, they would have agreed to taking the best of all version of the bill and finding a true cure to corruption. Personally Anna has hurt the citizen that resides in me, and I publicly claim that he is unworthy of any political participation ever.

Sonia Gandhi’s Achievements

In the 2004 general elections, Sonia Gandhi launched a nationwide campaign on the Aam Aadmi (ordinary man) slogan challenging the ‘India Shining’ slogan of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. She won the election by a large margin in the Rae Bareilly constituency in Uttar Pradesh.

On 16 May 2004, she was unanimously chosen the leader of the United Progressive Alliance, a 15-party coalition government with the support of the left.

In March 2006, Sonia resigned from the Lok Sabha and also as chairperson of the National Advisory Council under the office-of-profit controversy. She was re-elected from her constituency Rae Bareilly in May 2006 by a huge margin of over 400,000 votes.

As chairperson of the National Advisory Committee and the UPA chairperson, she played an important role in making the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme and the Right to Information Act into law.

She addressed the United Nations on 2 October 2007on the occasion of international day of non-violence coinciding the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

Under her leadership, the Congress-led-UPA returned to a near majority in the 2009 general elections with Manmohan Singh as the Prime Minister.

The congress party’s unique achievements and promotions in the uplift of the millions of downtrodden Indians and in nurturing the nation to become an economically powerful country in south-east Asia are attributable to the able and determined leadership of incumbent president Sonia Gandhi.

In June 2011, before her departing for her surgery, Sonia Gandhi gave an ethical statement in context of Anna Hazare’s campaign: The senior Congress leader said though many in the party ranks “don’t like Hazare, but she (Sonia Gandhi) has maintained courtesy in the past and will do so now”.

Digvijay Singh – A Visionary

Digvijay Singh is one of the most powerful and outspoken generals of the congress party. Not a day goes by when he does not make the front news for some or the other statement. The rare and positive aspect of this situation is the fact that, nationally he is still acknowledged as one of the best articulated and firm thinking personalities of the congress faction. There are numerous other achievements that are under his possession. Some of them are listed below:

·        A former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh and a senior leader of the Indian National Congress political party.

·        Elected as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh state for two five-year terms.

·        Became Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh on December 7, 1993 and continued to hold the post till Congress was voted out of power in the November of 2003.

·        Currently a General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee.

·        Digvijay Singh first became president of the Raghogarh municipal committee at the age of 22 years.

·        Became a Minister of State and later a Cabinet Minister in the Madhya Pradesh state government led by Arjun Singh in 1980-84 going on to serve as the President of Madhya Pradesh Congress Committee in 1985.

·        During his ten year regime, Digvijay Singh pursued a reformist agenda with a focus on decentralization of powers, and the empowerment of weaker sections.

·        Social sector programmes like adult literacy, expansion of the primary school network, and reforms in the rural health sector got a boost during this period.

·        A special effort was made through the Bhopal Declaration 2003 to reach out to the Dalits. Defying anti-incumbency predictions, the Congress got another term in 1998 under his leadership.

·        Digvijay Singh has consistently taken a public stance against Right-Wing Hindu Groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal.

·        Congress leader and former CM of Madhya Pradesh, Digvijay Singh has made India proud by becoming the first human being on earth to get an ISO certification for his integrity.

·        During the Anna Campaign Digvijay Singh had said, "Because of (Hazare's) crusade, RSS activists, who earlier used to sport black caps, have now switched over to wearing of white Gandhi caps.”

Pointers for Understanding the Gujarat Lokayukta Confusion

The Gujarat Lokayukta issue is being discussed at various levels. But what is unclear is who exactly is to be blamed? There is surely a lot that has gone wrong in the state, and all of it has surely been guided by an individual or a groups vested interests. Here are a few facts that were presented by the Congress committee to the president. None of these are allegation or rumors, but simple and true facts that clearly highlight the foul play of the Modi government. Read and judge for yourself.

Lokayukta are to be appointed by the governor, on advisory consultation with the High Court and an approval from the Leader of the Opposition by law under Gujarat Lokayukta Act, 1986.
http://scr.bi/o3yJNX (Point number 3)

The protocol and procedure had been stalled by the Modi government for seven and a half years, to prevent their misdeeds from being highlighted. This is a violation of law and protocol to be followed as the CM is bound by his oath before he takes up office.

There are examples from the past, where the governor has appointed the Lokayukta without any consent or consideration with the ruling party; these facts have been cleverly excluded in the current situation by the Modi government. They are as follows: Justice D H Shukla (1988-93), Justice I C Bhatt (1993-98) and Justice S M Soni (1998-2003) were appointed by the Governor with his own signature and warrant. No Cabinet Resolution was given to the Governor by way of suggestion or assistance in this regard.

Great depths were discovered to not allow the Lokayukta appointment. Modi government went to the extent of setting up a new commission would look into certain matter that were being raised by people. The cleverness worked as the commission was under the ruling parties control, and would not go against it. It would also prevent a Lokayukta to investigate same issues as they were already under investigation by the biased commission that was setup. The commission was lead by Justice M B Shah; the same man who was given the fake encounters case against the Modi government.

Low stooping politics has also been resorted to off late to prevent the Lokayukta appointment from being occupied. Justice R A Mehta, who was discredited by the Modi government on some hypothetical arguments to prevent him from taking up the office in concern, it is surprising because the same man’s house is where Anna Hazare Resides on his Gujarat visits. Thus his character has to be impeccable to attract to man like Mr. Hazare. Hence the Modi government’s doubts are no more than baseless statements, designed to prevent the truth from being known.

The Chief Minister of Gujarat in involved in corruption of crores of rupees and even Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has detected corruption and faulty administration of Rs.26, 651 crore. As per the Lokayukta Act, it can investigate cases which are less than five years old. Anyhow Chief Minister Modi wants to buy time so that his corruption cases are not investigated.

The overall chaos of the situation can be put upon the BJP, as they have asked for the recall of the governor on basis of the Lokayukta confusion. Despite of knowing that the governor has acted in full accord with the laws that have been laid, and examples that have preceded him.

A detailed memorandum about the above issue and other problems of the State was given to the President by the delegation which had Congress members of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, MLAs and members of core committee.

Conclusion:  The Modi government needs to be ousted and brought before the law to be tried for the breach of constitutional machinery, use of criminal methods, breach of peoples trust and misuse of public office for personal gain.   

Who is Our Leader? BJP Wonders!

The problem within the BJP was sensed a while back, with the mild stench resulting out of internal friction between the top leaders. But the recent development is a proof to the worsening situation. A few weeks back Nitin Gadkari, the party president had released a statement saying his party will run for the 2014 elections, not by putting a face to the party but by presenting the entire party as a collective unit. This statement was contradicted by another senior leader Arun Jaitley. Yesterday he made claims that the party will run for the elections with a decisive face. He also made it clear though, that the decision will come in time and there is no need for them to be considering this right now.

The BJP has been facing a certain internal crisis ever since the old generation combo of people like Vajpayee and Advani stopped working. To make matters worse the second generation of the party is not able to come up with a decisive strategy for the future. The entire situation has been brought to light in the most confused manner, out of L.K. Advani’s announcement, where he mentioned taking a Rath Yatra around the country to fight corruption.

Not only is Advani’s move a copy of the last successful movement within the country, but it also is being called a final attempt at securing backing for the 2014 PM office. These allegations could be ignored, had they come flying from unknown corners, but the matter is getting its share of attention because such statements are coming from within the BJP party. Overall, the BJP seems to be unorganized and unplanned at the moment. We can only hope that they are able to do the job of a prominent and righteous opposition that they have often claimed to be. 

Is this the final turn that Modi will ever take

The most recent development in Gujarat has come to the attention of the entire country. It is the arrest of the top cop Sanjeev Bhatt, on the charges of threatening his subordinate. The situation is not as simple as it seems which hopefully is being seen by the people of this country. Because this officer is none other than the one who alleged complicity of Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots that had affected the entire state, and had led to the death of more than 2000 Muslims.

Hence this move, according to me is one of the most bold and most naïve ones from the side of Narendra Modi. It is more than obvious that after distracting the masses from the 2002 issue, with the aid of the ‘sadbhavna’ fast and the rally at the outskirts of Ahmedabad, Modi assumed that it was time to completely remove all hurdles from his path. To add to the pressure, there is the internal rift that is on within the BJP, especially between the two prominent 2014 candidates of the party, LK Advani and Modi himself.

Although the cop has been arrested, the pressure is only increasing on Modi in the form of a backlash from the masses, and I would say it is well deserved. Because the day a nation stoops to the level where whistleblowers can be so easily removed from public sight, will be the true end of our democracy and of our hope towards a better future. Thus I decided to highlight a few important factors from this situation that clearly highlight the real scenario from the fake one that is being projected by the Modi government.

Firstly, the charge that he has been arrested on was filed three months ago, and surprisingly for all this while there was no information or activity carried out on the issue.

Secondly, the precise complaint is said to be an FIR registered by KD Pant, one of the constables of the Gujarat police, who had worked as Bhatt’s driver during the 2002 riots.

Thirdly, the constable in context is the same one who was being defended by Bhatt under the claim that Pant was threatened with dire consequences and arrest by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing some of the 2002 riot cases on the directions of the Supreme Court. He had further alleged Pant was virtually treated like an accused by the SIT during his questioning on April 5, 2011.

If these contradictions are not enough to tell the true story, then there is more that one can get convinced with. 

Ever since Bhatt’s arrest his house has been raided twice by the cops. Moreover his wife has written to all the senior officials in the state about the misconduct with which these searches are being carried out. She also stated that Bhatt was "surprisingly shifted to the City Crime Branch which has bad reputation of fake encounters".

In a surprising take, the BJP has backed the arrest of the 1988 IPS batch officer. With the claim that just because someone points a finger at Narendra Modi, does not mean that the law ceases to exist for him. The irony of the situation is in the fact that, because one points a finger at Modi, the law suddenly becomes over active towards them.

I have mentioned all the necessary facts above, as for the moment I can only urge the citizens of this country, especially the ones in Gujarat to prevent this unconstitutional activity from happening. There is also the true test of media in this incident, as Bhatt stated from within police custody, "I cannot say anything right now as I am in police custody. It is not the right time. If I want I can say lot of things but would not like to comment. It is now for media to decide what is right and what is wrong."