From: डा वी एन शर्मा
Date: Thu, Dec 29, 2011 at 8:30 AM
Subject:Protest Dharna at Azad Maidan: Against Team Anna's High handed campaign
To: bharat-chintan
डा वी एन शर्मा / Dr.V.N.Sharma
Cell No.9431102680,
Member, Secretariat, All India Forum for Right to Education (AIF-RTE),
Working Committee Member, Jan Sansad &
Chairman, Jharkhand Vigyan Manch
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: anilsadgopal
Date: 2011/12/28
Subject: [PMARC] Protest Dharna at Azad Maidan: Against Team Anna's High handed campaign
To: Dalits Media Watch
Cc: ram puniyani, ramesh patnaik, Madhu Prasad, G Haragopal, Mohit Pandey, Vikas Gupta
Dear Dr. Ram Puniyani,
Through you, I wish to congratulate the entire team that took the courageous and timely initiative in organising the Dharna to oppose “Anna Hazare’s highhanded demands for the Janlokpal above the people and the parliament”. Had I been in Mumbai at the time, I would have definitely been in the Dharna. You are absolutely right in diagnosing the Anna movement as an “assault on democracy and pluralism”. Indeed, there is much more to it than what meets the eye. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, there is definitely a design of steadily destroying the credibility of various democratic structures and provisions as provided in the Constitution. Nothing else would have pleased the global capital more!
The unprecedented financial and media support from India Inc calls for an in-depth examination of the political agenda of Team Anna. Long standing grassroots movements sustained over decades in India could never receive media attention anywhere close to what Anna Hazare'a movement managed to get within a period of few months. The flow of finance from international funding agencies and their NGOs in the country is not something that can be ignored any longer. Ford Foundation and such other agencies, American capital’s Think Tanks in particular, have long been known to have been responsible for their anti-democratic interventions in Latin America. Times magazine’s plans to put Anna on its front cover is yet another reason for investigating the socio-political character of Team Anna’s politics. Unfortunately, I have not had the time to undertake a comprehensive analysis of all these aspects.
None of this, however, detracts attention from the corrupt and anti-people political class and its collusion with the India Inc and global capital in eating into democratic and social fabric of the country. But that calls for a political engagement that is entirely different from what Team Anna is pursuing.
I am willing to grant that there might be one or two members of Team Anna who are there without realizing the inherent dangers but then neither naïveté nor immaturity may be cited as grounds for justifying or rationalizing anti-democratic politics.
Pl do let me know of your future plans for making the public aware of the dangers of Anna Hazare’s politics and send me the report, if any, of the Dharna.
In solidarity,
- Anil Sadgopal
--- On Sat, 24/12/11, prashantbhush wrote:
From: prashantbhush
Subject: [PMARC] Protest Dharna at Azad Maidan: Against Team Anna's High handed campaign
To: "Dalits Media Watch"
Date: Saturday, 24 December, 2011, 5:01 PM
Dear Puniani ji,
I am surprised that you are participating in this Dharna.
Warmly,
Prashant
Sent on my BlackBerry® from Vodafone
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: "ram.puniyani"
Date: Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:41:45 +0000 (GMT)
To: Dalits Media Watch
ReplyTo: "Dalits Media Watch"
Subject: [PMARC] Protest Dharna at Azad Maidan: Against Team Anna's High handed campaign
-Dharna to oppose Anna Hazare’s Highhanded demands for the Janlokpal above the people and the parliament.
The Anna Movement has taken a very authoritarian touch. It is trying to dictate terms to the highest democratic organization of the country, the Parliament. The attempt to impose a parallel oligarchic structure on the Nation is fraught with dangers and is a deliberate attempt to undermine the democratic ethos of the country. To protest against this Anna assault on democracy and pluralism of the country, a Dharna has been organized as under.
On 22,23, and 24 December
Venue Azad Maidan- 11 Am Onwards
By Save Democracy: Save India
National Campaign for Equal Opportunities, All India Secular Forum, Indians for Justice and many other organizations are participating.
On 24th December Kumar Ketkar, Adv. Zuber Azmi, Sunil Kadam, Dr. Vivek Korde, Mr. Farid and Ram Puniyani will speak amongst others. (Around 2.30 PM onwards)
Please join in large numbers to call the Team Anna bluff that THEY represent the nation and that they are ABOVE parliament
--
Lokpal Legislation Debate Require Calmer Consideration
Rajindar Sachar
The debate in Parliament on the proposed Lokpal legislation has unfortunately touched a low nadir; instead of discussing the legislation in a sober atmosphere and with conscious effort to arrive at as much consensus as possible, the parties instead indulged in mutual attacks.
Governments furtive slip in of various quotas including the minorities was a deliberate ploy with on eye on U.P. Elections, notwithstanding the doubt on legality of it expressed by former Supreme Court Judges and jurists. Could even any one imagine that the selection committee of Prime Minister, leader of opposition, irrespective of their party affiliation and non political Chief Justice of India that they would not include as members from the amongst Muslims, and women, when any number of them are available on their own merit. Why this non issue was loud mouthed unless it is a device to stall the Lokpal legislation. Let us not forget that these Mulayam / Lallu groups were the ones who sabotaged women Reservation bill by wantonly insisting a sub quota in Women Reservation Bill thus embarrassing Sonia Gandhi and Sushma Swaraj who had earlier without any embarrassment embraced and congratulated each other at their victory in Lok Sabha, but had to beat a retreat in Rajya Sabha
The suggestion that if there are any allegations against the Prime Minister they would be decoratively pigeon holded and brought out after he had remitted office (which may be even 5 years later) does not make any sense, Are we living in a democracy or under a kingship who was supposed to be a representative of Divine. Recently a sitting Prime Minister of Italy who was forced to resign on corruption charge proved against him by a court magistrate.
Similarly Chirac, Prime minister of France has been sentenced to 7 years and the President of Israel being sent to jail on the grounds of moral impropriety.
The most contentions matter of C.B.I. remains unresolved. His appointment should be by a joint committee consisting of Lokpal and the standing committee of Parliament. Give C.B.I. director a fixed tenure for say five or 10 years. He should have full administrative control over the staff of C.B.I. and earmarked funds from the consolidated fund. There would be no interference with his day to day from the Central Government or Lokpal. However Lokpal would be entitled to ask or and receive reports from him at regular intervals and also authorized to convey its decisions on such matters. He shall not be removed from service except in the manner and on like grounds as a judge of the Supreme Court – the same manner of removal applies to the removal of Chief Election Commissioner.
I for one would not limit the choice necessarily to a police official and it could even be from outside the service. If it is decided to have a Chief Vigilance Commissioner, the same conditions and procedure will apply as applicable to Director of C.B.I.
Surprisingly not withstanding bitter wrangling on other aspects all members of the Parliament are unanimously agreeing to keep themselves immune from the ambit of Lokpal or even Directors C.B.I. for their corrupt actions and bribery if it is done inside the Parliament. To me this is scandalous and unacceptable.
In their defence Members of parliament invoke Article 105 of the Constitution, and the widely criticized majority judgment of (3 against 2) on in Narsimma Rao case (1999) (I believe the matter is referred to a larger bench).
The minority Judgment however warned that this interpretation could lead to charter for corruption so as to elevate Members of Parliament as “super-citizens, immune from criminal responsibility”. It would indeed be ironic if a claim for immunity from prosecution founded on the need to ensure the independence of Members of parliament in exercising their right to speak or cast their vote in Parliament, could be put forward by a Member who has bartered away his independence by agreeing to speak or vote in a particular manner in lieu of illegal gratification that has been paid or promised. By claiming the immunity such a Member would only be seeking a licence to indulge in such corrupt conduct. In other countries such a conduct of MPs is treated as criminal, since 1875 in Australia.
To invoke Article 253 of the constitution for enacting Lok Ayukat is of doubtful legality and imperishable in our federal set up. Surely no state can resist the public sentiment built for Lok Ayukat.
The matter of Lokpal is too important and needs to be discussed more seriously and not under pressure of forth coming elections in Punjab and especially of U.P. Also the panicky reaction of Central government to Anna Hazare threat of fast compounded by the opposition wanting to cash on it when they went to Anna Hazare sit in to cooze upto him. Their puerile excuse that they wanted to explain their point of view is unacceptable Political Parties hold their own meetings to explain their position to the public. We go to Jantar Mantar to show our solidarity with the victims of forced displacement, and the illegal actions of the government on the deprived poor. The parties do not go to the sit in of a person they are now wanting to deride and ridicule. Of course I agree that Anna Hazare has full rights to muster support and arouse masses and exercise his democratic rights – and to put pressure on the government and even the parliament, to pass a particular law because the ultimate sovereign are the people. But there is a caveat that this discussion requires a calmer atmosphere. Could the parties unanimously agree to adjourn the discussions to be after the pressure of U.P. Elections is over with a pledge to pass the legislation as first item when it begins the next session.
As a measure of his genuine concern for strong Lokpal Anna Hazare, on his part, one hopes would reciprocate by not going on fast. He can rest assured that peoples determination to have a strong Lokpal is not so weak, as to let government avoid its solemn pledge to pass the bill in the next session of the parliament – if the government further prevaricates it most know that consequences could be monumental and no government can remain in permanent confrontation with its real masters, the people of India.
DATED: 28/12/2011
New Delhi.
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