A strong anti-corruption wave is sweeping through the nation, leaving the UPA government in complete disarray. People’s voice is crying to be heard and acted upon; they are at the end of their tether. The last year witnessed a hard rain of corruption, with a plethora of incidents tumbling out of the government’s closets, but not on account of government vigilance or commitment to probity, but because of proactive intervention by the aam admi and whistleblowers, superb fact-finding by media agencies, and supervision by a responsible, results-demanding and independent judiciary.
In the absence of serious government action and credible political leadership, the anti corruption wave threw up unexpected leaders. To begin with, Anna Hazare, who started an anti-corruption fast unto death on 5 April, became the rallying point for galvanising the long suppressed rage of the people of India against ubiquitous government corruption at all levels — the little scams that plague their day to day lives. The main focus of his fast was the establishment of an independent Lokpal. After five days of a determined stand by Anna Hazare, and prevarication, obfuscation and confusion on the part of the government, his demands were acceded to in good measure, bringing the government to its knees.
On 4 June, Baba Ramdev, a guru of a different genre, started an anti-corruption fast with the specific objective of bringing back black money stashed in foreign banks by Indian politicians, businessmen and bureaucrats, and declaring it a national asset. The world knows how the fast ended on 5 June, with government repression and a police crackdown at 1 a.m. on a sleeping gathering that included women and children. This was in blatant violation of the provisions of the Constitution, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Delhi Police Act. It would not be an exaggeration to describe it as a state aggression against a peaceful gathering. Opinion leaders across the board compared it with Jallianwala Bagh and the Emergency.
The government response, apart from being brutal and illegal, was maladroit. Anna Hazare undertook another fast on 8 June at Raj Ghat, drawing a massive response, to protest against the brutal suppression of the people’s voice at Baba Ramdev’s agitation and to support Baba Ramdev’s cause of getting back India’s black money. This unwittingly united the two streams of protest: the first comprising the more middle class, urban and semi urban population, and the other comprising the more rural and heartland sections. Anna Hazare has promised another fast on 16 August if the government does not pass the Lokpal Bill by then.
The government continues to be obdurate and refuses to see the overwhelming popular support towards attacking corruption and bringing back India’s money worth billions of dollars. The people of India should be grateful to the German government, which was able to penetrate the impenetrable wall of customer confidentiality, and unconditionally provided India with information from Lichtenstein regarding details of illegal bank accounts in 2008. The German finance ministry spokesman is reported to have stated that data would be made available to other nations at no cost if they requested (Finfacts, Ireland’s business and finance portal). Of course, this was merely the limited information they were able to get from Lichtenstein. Germany provided similar information to the US and UK, who took immediate action and were able to recover some portions of the stolen property starting 2008. But it is shameful that the Government of India has shown complete disinclination to even start the process of recovering the stolen money, and is giving false excuses such as being barred by confidentiality and the double taxation avoidance agreement, when no such bars exist. Any guesses why?
The Swiss, not keen to be seen as a nation of money launderers, appear to be changing their ways. They have signed and ratified the UN Convention against Corruption in 2009. India signed it in 2005, but failed to ratify it until May 2011, that also under intense public condemnation for soft pedalling corruption.
From 1991 onwards, the names of Rajiv Gandhi and members of the Gandhi family have been surfacing in the foreign media, including a respectable Swiss magazine Schweizer Illustrierte, and the Russian publication “The State within a State”. The late Rajiv Gandhi was shown as one of the 14 most illustrious money launderers in the Swiss magazine. It is a little strange that no one from the Gandhi family has thought it fit to sue the Swiss magazine. Some patriotic Indians published these facts in a paid advertisement in the US in 2007. New York-based Indian National Overseas Congress Inc (INOC) filed a lawsuit in the Supreme Court of the State of New York to defend Sonia Gandhi’s honour. The New York court dismissed the lawsuit in 2008 saying that the INOC was not the proper party and did not have the locus standi to bring a claim of defamation, because none of the statements were made about them. Surely, Sonia Gandhi had no intention of filing the lawsuit herself and subjecting herself to cross examination under US law. Again, there was no case of defamation or libel from Sonia Gandhi. Subramanian Swami has published all these facts that are available on his website. If they are false, why doesn’t Sonia Gandhi sue him?
Task the Prime Minister, if you have given the names of persons holding illegal accounts received from the German government in a sealed cover to the Supreme Court, why are you not giving them to the people of India, who are the true owners of this wealth? Since you are not doing this, people like Baba Ramdev have to take the matter to the nation through fast and agitation.
Swami Ramdev, who I greatly respect, has been criticised by many Congress supporters as a yogi who has become a politician and is misusing the technique of “fast unto death” to achieve a political objective. These malicious ignoramuses forget the number of fasts Gandhiji went through to get the British out of India. He was achieving a political prize for the poor nation. Baba Ramdev is a purer soul than many Congress politicians and it is his right to make our indigenous dacoits disgorge the stolen wealth they have swallowed. He and his followers are making excellent use of their constitutional rights. It is the government which was licking the Swamiji’s boots and began calling him a thug only when he showed his defiance and mettle.
It is fortunate that the aam admi has identified the real thugs.
All that the government is doing in a panic response is trying to intimidate the protestors through its archaic repressive ways via the state machinery that it commands, enquiring into their assets and businesses and licences, and spreading canards that it is RSS sponsored. As if the RSS has no right to protest against corruption.
The government is giving the nation a damning public cause against itself on a platter.