Opinion MODI-fy the Lokpal debate

During Anna’s 97-hour-long fast,the whole world saw that one of its many positive outcomes was how it united people belonging to diverse faiths,castes and classes with a single energising emotion of Indianness. Why,then am I presenting this rather superfluous vignette from the candle march to show the secular character of Anna’s campaign? Because I am aghast—just as millions of common Indians are—at the continued attempts to vilify him and weaken his anti-corruption drive. Look at the alacrity and ferocity with which some self-styled custodians of secularism have attacked him for praising Gujarat’s Narendra Modi—along with Bihar’s Nitish Kumar—for the two chief ministers — ‘good work’ in grassroots rural development. What wrong did he commit for inviting such attack? Is it a crime to speak the truth?

Those who have flayed Anna for praising Modi believe that saying anything good about the latter is impermissible,even if such praise is for the Gujarat government’s many positive actions that can be easily verified on the ground. Gujarat has achieved remarkable,and irrefutable,success in rural electrification,rural water supply,improving rural and urban roads,boosting agricultural production year after year,creating employment and wealth-creating opportunities for all communities (including Muslims) both in rural and urban areas,raising female literacy (including among tribal communities),reducing gender imbalance,improving maternal and child health,and so on. Closer to the theme of Anna’s campaign,Gujarat is also a state where corruption in government has reduced considerably,even though it is nobody’s (not even Modi’s) claim that it has completely disappeared. All this could not have happened without Modi’s strong,focused and goal-oriented leadership. Ministers in the UPA government and senior bureaucrats in Delhi attest to this in private conversations,even though some of them lack the courage and honesty to express their praise for Modi publicly.

However,Gujarat’s achievements,made possible by the cooperative efforts of its people and its government,count for zilch as far as Modi’s detractors and demonisers are concerned. Their arrogance,prejudice,self-righteousness and illiberalism know no bounds. For them,the only thing that matters is his alleged role in the 2002 communal carnage in the state. As regards to the barbaric acts of violence that took place then,the guilty must not go unpunished,however highly placed they may be. Nevertheless,it behoves one and all to have faith in the impartiality of the Supreme Court,which is closely monitoring the investigation of riot cases in Gujarat. If the court pronounces Modi guilty,he will face the consequences. But until then,let him be judged on the merits and demerits of his performance in diverse areas of governance. Notably,some of those who have criticised Anna for allegedly disrespecting democratic institutions by shortcircuiting elected representatives—a baseless criticism since it is Parliament,and not Anna and his supporters,who will ultimately pass the Lokpal Bill—show scant respect for the fact that Modi is elected by the people of Gujarat as their chief minister,not once but thrice in a row.

Anna’s Jan Lokpal proposal certainly has some serious flaws. But it is many times better than the government’s toothless and deceitful draft Lokpal Bill. The remarkable unity among civil society activists and members that Anna’s campaign rapidly forged needs to be further broadened and solidified. It has great transformational potential to strengthen the pathetically weak participative character of our democracy. However,its gains can be as quickly frittered away if civil society activists lack sincerity,unselfishness,mutual trust,patience and,most importantly,the spirit of conversation and cooperation despite differences. After a long time,an opportunity has come by to force all political parties to pass a tough anti-corruption law. If we succeed in this initial,albeit limited,goal,we can in the future create a stronger ethos of cooperation among citizens,political institutions and government to win bigger battles against the scourges of corruption,communalism and disharmonious development.