Is it the last stand

Will the path breaking (or back breaking for our politicians) Jan Lok pall bill be the beginning of the end of corruption in the country? The mood of the civil society is one of hope and in Anna they found a man who could push the government on the back foot. Squeaky clean, short in physical built and a Gandhian to the core there could not have been better person to lead the agitation. It is a genuine victory for the civil society and one could see the UPA government trembling on the potential damage this agitation could cause to its already tarnished reputation. For the government there could not have been a worst moment with the Supreme Court breathing down its neck on the 2G and the CWG scams it had no way out than to accept the demands of the agitators.

The congress spokesperson tried to talk down Anna and his team on the question of constitutional propriety of forming a joint committee with a co-chairman from civil society, there were no buyers to this line of argument, government has shown alacrity in agreeing to the demands and moving on with the deliberations.

It needs to be seen if the deliberations of the joint committee, subsequent approval of the cabinet and formalizing of the bill in the parliament will happen. There is long way to go and the terms of the bill could be diluted and the process could derail at any time.

However is the civil society ready to face a corruption less system, are we not an integral part of the mess. No doubt we hate it, but many of us would have greased palms or given baksheesh to get out of a mess or get work done out of way. A small recommendation for a school admission, job, using “influence” for moving files in a government office etc, we are not used to play by the rules. We need to re-build our society’s value systems with respect to conduct in public life. Playing by the rules should be the norm only then can we really dream of a society devoid of corruption.
The next question is for the Political class and bureaucracy. Are they ready for a corruption less system? Do we have an Institutional frame work to tackle corruption at this level, will the Jan lokpal bill help.

It is a gargantuan task to get rid of the evil of corruption that is tearing the society apart. Politicians pushing their policies, Corporates getting cosy with bureaucrats and politicians for big contracts, rape of natural wealth by some, Judicial corruption, big time corruption in PWD and water works projects across the country, daily life small time corruption by constables, RTO, CTO etc. There is no end and we are all in it.

Has the time come for India to come out clean; is the defiance of the civil society the last stand? Let’s wait and watch.