3 hrs in state & Anna turns on Modi: It’s liquor land

At the end of a three-hour public hearing organised by India Against Corruption (Gujarat chapter) at Gujarat Vidyapith during which people from across the state spoke of losing their land,their waters being polluted and their occupations being threatened,Hazare pulled no punches in attacking Modi who he had hailed as a role model just a month ago.

“After coming here,I understand there are so many scams in Gujarat,so many scams in Gandhi’s state,” Hazare said,adding he “would ask the chief minister to appoint a Lokayukta”. In another swipe apparently at Modi,the crusader,known for his aggressive campaign against liquor,said: “In Gandhiji’s state,there is so much alcohol flowing around. Gujarat has more alcohol than it has milk.”

Swami Agnivesh too was all charged. “Yeh Vibrant Gujarat nahi hain,yeh ghotale ka Gujarat hain,” he declared.

During the public hearing,about 300 people,a mix of rural folks and curious locals,had gathered at the venue. Some wore Gandhi caps,others wore prayer caps and still others sported saffron bandanas. A group that marched till here from Dandi in Navsari district registered its arrival by waving the national flag and shouting slogans,cheered on by a garlanded man chanting through a microphone connected to a purple Phillips portable stereo.

The pamphlets that made the rounds were equally diverse; they spoke of land acquisition,corruption,Right to Information (RTI),food,industrial pollution etc.

But a unifying thread ran through the four-minutes-each speeches by the 31 persons who addressed those from the Lokpal draft committee: the local problems they faced from various development projects across the state.

Agnivesh was the first to the address the gathering. “We feel many of you are not finding time to tell us all you want to. You told us a lot about Gujarat,something the media reports reaching Delhi never talked about. Today,after listening to you,we feel the media has been manipulated all this time. The kind of propaganda going on in Gujarat is also a form of corruption. It is clear Modi is using crores of rupees on media management and a lot of lies are coming out,” he said.

Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal cautioned they did not possess “a magic wand to end all your troubles” but the Lokpal bill was an institutional move. “The question is,in cases of corruption,who can people go to? Here,the question is more pertinent because there is no Lokayukta,” he said.

But there were others who expressed doubt about what the public hearing would lead to. “Who is Anna Hazare? Does he have any powers?” asked a labour union leader.

An elderly man,who introduced himself as “Atul Kothari,a curious local”,was more direct.

“This is a hopeless show. You think this will work? It will not,” he said,and,clinching his fist,finished,“You need to take law in your own hands.”