Last week Delhi’s historic Jantar Mantar made news again. This time Baba Ramdev and Team Anna were protesting against corruption and black money. Another protest leading the cause nowhere!  Ever wondered what happened to the much debated Lokpal bill that was to wipe out corruption from our country?
In spite of the huge nationwide support the bill has not been passed by the parliament while the nation desperately awaits its only hope against massive corruption scams.
If you didn’t know, Jan Lokpal Bill is an anti-corruption bill drawn up by prominent civil society activists seeking the appointment of an independent corruption investigation body in India. The bill aims to effectively deter corruption and punish corrupt people (a much needed law considering India ranks 95th in the global corruption index). It’s indeed deplorable that the bill has been turned down 8 times by the parliament since 1968.
Flash Back
Not many knew about the Lokpal bill until Anna Hazare made it a national movement in 2011. We had accepted corruption as part of our everyday life until anti corruption activists (Team Anna members in particular) came together to formulate a citizen’s version of Lokpal called Jan Lokpal. Public support grew with the Gandhian’s indefinite fast. Nationwide protests were held, people were out on streets and the media helped it turn into a national movement! (The role of social media in mobilizing youth was phenomenal too).
Many in fact compared it to Indian’s struggle for Independence!
Short-lived Success
After much public outcry, the government agreed to the demands of Anna Hazare and promised an effective anti-corruption law .What followed was a series of negotiations between Team Anna and the UPA government. Finally, the controversial Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill 2011 was passed by Lok Sabha in December 2011. The nation rejoiced not knowing the bill was weak and ineffective.
The new government-drafted bill is applicable only to 5% of government employees (only group A employees) and is heavily controlled by the government. Surprisingly, the proposed Lokpal cannot even receive complaints from general public and has no prosecution powers at all, making it a completely powerless institution!!
Issues including the restriction of Lokayukta powers at the state level and the exclusion of CBI and Judiciary from the bill remain unacceptable to Team Anna. They even termed the bill ‘anti-people’ and ‘dangerous’ for the country. The same bill was later tabled in Rajya Sabha only to be dramatically turned down by various parties for more amendments.
Though cleared by Lok Sabha, the bill awaits Rajya Sabha’s nod. The passage of the anti-corruption bill has been further delayed as the government has referred the controversial bill to a select committee of Rajya Sabha. The bill now cannot be expected before the monsoon session in August. It’s all a hazy picture because once approved by Rajya Sabha, it will go back to Lok Sabha for approval again. A long and unpredictable process!
Lose of Faith
After the confusing tactics of the government, people seem to be losing faith in the fight against corruption.  Dwindling numbers at protest venues are a clear indicator. Corruption allegations against popular Team Anna members like  Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal and Shanti Bhushan have further damaged the positive opinion people had about the movement.
Critics are slamming the internal rift in Team Anna members and are blaming the political inclinations of the movement for it’s decline in popularity. (Team Anna recently alleged that PM Manmohan Singh and 14 cabinet ministers are corrupt). The never ending struggle and unpredictable outcome of the bill have further dampened the spirits of people. Don’t you think that many citizens who passionately campaigned for the cause are now clueless about it?
The Way Ahead
Anna Hazare has announced to go on a nationwide yatra once the dates for India’s general elections of 2014 are decided. Meanwhile, the anti-corruption movement has seen a dip in zest!  So what can really bring back the force and vigor to the Lokpal movement? Well, an attempt to revive the campaign has been initiated by Kiran Bedi . Apparently, Poonam Pandey (a famous model who stripped for KKR’s win recently and tops the chart of search engines) has been approached to be part of the campaign to attract youth back to the cause.
It needs to be seen if this helps in drawing crowds back!
Until the lokpal bill is passed there are other innovative ways to fight corruption, websites like the “I paid a bride” is one such platform. You can share your bribe paying experiences, mention names and departments of people you have paid a bride for the whole world to know!
Also tell us what you think can be done to fight corruption and revive the campaign for a strong Lokpal. You never know which ideas start a revolution again !