Arm Chair Activism or True Revolution -- Lokpal Bill Analysis

For those of you who know me already know that I am very opposed to the Lokpal bill. But I have to Admit apart from the fact that Team Anna is trying to shove it down the government's throat I didn't know too much about the Bill. But I am sure I am not alone, Most of the supporters also don't know what the bill is about. Someway is better than the way things are going so I can understand people getting behind a vision that will create a more Corruption-free Indian System.

This is My take from the bill, There are a few clauses that worry me as these are a form of Parallel government that may become the same monster we have on our hands in the form of the Congress party.

The basic aim of the bill is that

n It will create a Watchdog or ombudsman body that will oversee everything done by the government and prevent Scandals by Politicians and Government officials , Something that is Highly needed and I will also confess to that

o 6 Members will form a Panel:

§ “Members will be appointed by judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean record, private citizens and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory process.”

§ “A selection committee will invite shortlisted candidates for interviews, video recordings of which will thereafter be made public.”

o A Few basic questions for this part of the bill are: Where do you find the Clean Record Government and Judicial Representatives ?

o Aren't these the guys causing the problem right now ?Private Citizens: out of a population of 1.2 Billion how do you select 4 or 5 private citizens, What is the criteria for selection and How do I trust anyone to do my bidding on governmental Matters ? And if there isn't another efficient way to Select a Private citizen than Elections then what is the point of this whole movement

o I am sure people will be tripping all over each other to be part of this investigation committee. Knowing the love of power we have, how can you be sure that these Private citizens are not harboring political ambitions ? or they will not become corrupted by the system ?

o Also since you can see so many corruption cases how can 6 people handle all the investigations ?

o Will I have to give a CAT style entrance exam or write an essay to get an interview call.

The Worrying Clauses are:

n Lokpal will have the power to initiate prosecution of anyone found guilty.

n Lokpal will have police powers as well as the ability to register FIRs.

n Lokpal and the anti-corruption wing of the CBI will be one independent body.

These clauses have given this bunch of ambitious future Changers so much power that they are bound to get corrupted. All these clauses are the powers that are given to a government and over time people stop doing their duties but keep exercising their rights. What is the guarantee that these people will not turn out to be the same people we threw out of the building ? and How sure are you that they will not abuse the power they have to their own advantage.

Also the Financial and Fiscal impact of this movement cannot even be quantified i will try

This is my analysis if this really has to work at every level:

n At the top 6 Committee members overseeing the LOKPAL investigations

n Every State has let's say 1 Lokyukta(Lokpals for States) Committee which has say 6 more members (6* 29 states= 174 members)

n Every Lokyukta Committee will have atleast 6 more members in every district that would mean at least 640 Districts X 6 members each (3840 members)

n And Finally Every Village has atleast 2 members so 638,365 villages X 2 = 12,76,730 Committee members

n So the Total numbers of Members you need to Run a Successful Lokpal Committe are 12,80,750- you might have a 10,000 in 1 chance to be on a committee somewhere.

The Financial Compensation to these people should be high so that they don't get corrupted with amounts of money. I do trust people's integrity but I don't think I can fry and eat Integrity.

So Let's say a member gets an average payment of Rs. 20,000 per month (it's a low number but let’s trust integrity also)

so that will mean Rs. 2,40,000/ year X 1,280,750

Brings our Total to Rs.307,380,000,000 (Rupees Three Hundred Seven Billion Three Hundred Eighty Million ) !! Did you burn your Anna Hazare Sign yet ??

I understand the Attraction to get behind a movement that is against this corrupt government but we have to take a look at hard facts. Team Anna has done a very good job manipulating the youth through Social media, Status Messages like the ones below are posted by my friends who I have known for a long time, Some are written out of the information they have some are Copy and paste one’s.

“Anna is set free.. This is seems to be a replay action of what Gandhiji did to British raj. I hope the results are the same. :)”

“I guess the Govt is still waiting for someone to approach them with a bribe to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill!”

“Anna Hazare says bring back the Black money.
Do you know what will happen if 1,456 lac crore comes back?
1.India Financially No1
2.Each district will get 60000 crore and 1 village will get 100 crores
3.No need to pay taxes for next 20yrs
...4.Petrol 20Rs, Diesel 5Rs, Milk 8Rs
5.No need to participate in this revolution just support Anna Hazare by posting on your wall.
I did my job for a better India on a brighter tomorrow!”

“Mixed Emotions:

Jailer asks Ajmal Kasab: Y r u so happy today?
Kasab : I m not indian, I hate India, I Killed Indians, but I' m very safe in India.

Journalist asks Anna Hazare: Y r u so sad today?
Anna: I'm Indian, I Love my India and Indians, but feel unsafe and I'm not sure when I will be Killed. But, I will still continue to fight.”

“Government against corruption?? i doubt that...the government is against ppl opposing the corruption!! Shri Anna Hazare hum aap ke saath hai..”

“Before 1947 Gandhi ji was FREE to express his disagreement through peaceful means. Today after 64 years of INDEPENDENCE a person is fighting against corruption but Govt is not giving him space for protest. Govt is trying its level best to crush this mass movement against corruption. IS INDIA REALLY INDEPENDENT? 16th Aug, 2011. We all have to support Anna! This is a NOW or NEVER moment. Are YOU READY?”

· Cabinet Minister have a maximum age limit of 70 years

· No Minister is allowed to run for more than 3 terms in his lifetime

· Any MP ever connected to a Scandal and proven to be guilty has to be banned from Election and Immediate relatives also have to be disqualified.

· Any Person who has a court case against him should not be allowed to run in an Election

· The IAS has to be phased out and replaced with young MBA’s (we have a few million of those each year) who have a business mentality and can bring it to their positions

· The government should introduce an incentive/penalty plan to reward/punish government workers for doing their job. A person who completes all the work he is assigned will get a bonus and a person who fails to meet their quotas will get 3 warnings and then will be fired

For Now what can be done is that we vote in every election. Make sure we register a No-Vote if you don’t like the candidates in your area, A No-vote will ensure that all the candidates get disqualified and a new election will be held with new candidates.

Let’s try and use the rights that the Constitution has given us 1^st and fulfill our duties, If we are doing that I don’t think a corrupt government can stay in power and slowly but surely the system will get cleaned.

A reminder from History : Gaddaffi, Saddam , Stalin, Lenin , Hitler, Mussolini were all trying to liberate their people from Tyrannical rules, But power makes everyone hungry. And trust me just because an Old man wears a white hat doesn’t mean he is going to be your Gandhi. Until I get proven wrong and publically laughed at All the best

Democracy going to the Dogs ?

Hi All, I have not Written in a long while but here it goes,

There has been a lot of talk about Anna Hazare's Lok Pal movement and how that will help Indian's use the Democratic process better. But we keep forgetting the Big picture, Whatever is wrong with India is due to the Ministers WE ELECTED, with or without Participation. So what are you all complaining about.

I am a big fan of Democracy and let me tell you What Anna Hazare is trying to become is the person, That 41 years ago help "LIBERATE" Libya from an "EVIL" leader and his name is GADDAFI. That's why its very important to follow DUE DEMOCRATIC process, it's not the perfect system but the fairest.Anna Hazare is not a democratically Elected leader and he should not be talking decisions for the rest of us, unless he wins an election. The lokpal bill is not a Democratically selected bill.

Yes it seems like we need a revolution to get out of this mess India is in but who are the leaders of the Revolution be ??? Rahul Gandhi ? Milind Deora ? or some other old Hack ?? The problem with the Indian middle-class (I am one of them) is that WE DONT VOTE, and why is that because we are too busy staring at the TV or "WORKING".

The Population that votes gets what they want,

• The 27% below poverty line people always vote , what do they get - Alcohol, Money, Houses/Slums, Electricity for their Slum, Ration cards etc,
• The Rich people vote they get publicity because they are "helping" the nation chose leaders
• the Farmers vote and get Free electricity, Farm subsidies, No Income tax etc
• What does the Middle Class get for not Voting ?? Higher Taxes, Corruption, No Development, Joblessness, Lower Standard of living, Inflation and big MIDDLE FINGER,

And the Middle Class Deserves it, If you think talking to your Friends and bitching at NDTV about how corruption is killing India is voting then you are wrong, If we really want change Why dont we go out and do the simplest thing in the world, Stand in line and vote.

Also if your name is not on the voter list, dont be relieved go to the office and make sure you have it on there. The Government knows the Middle Class is like the GUY/GIRL WHO GOT RAPED SO MANY TIMES HE/SHE ENJOYS IT or Doesn't EVEN CARE about IT ANYMORE and that's why they want to put the smallest obstacle in your way and know that you will not follow through and fix it so that you can use your right to vote

A few years ago a report said Bombay alone was contributing for 40% of the Income-tax revencue for the whole country, It was 2% of the population then, and i'm sure Bombay's voting rate would've been less than 50% and the middle class voting rates would've been less than 25%, So 75% of Bombay's middle class are not part of the discussion when it comes to big picture issues. So who's responsible?

We have to realize that Democracy is a Duty not a right, and if we keep failing at it we are giving rise to Anarchy, Ask the People of Afganistan or some african countries and see how fortunate we are to be able to elect a representative, But we don't value it, This Government- Middleclass relationship is an abusive one because the "Middle-class is the Wife who cooks the food and then goes and earns money to support her Drunk husband, But the Husband is busy using that money to sleep with Whores and know all that she still sits there and cries, Doing nothing" if the middle class doesnt want to be jerked around like this it has to rise up and do the fundamental Duty and vote for the person they choose.

"56% of the Indian Populace is Middle Class" - you know with 10% more votes in the same direction and you will get what you want, the leaders you want, the issues that affect you will be looked at, you will be part of the debate.

I think it's necessary to clean your own house before blaming the BMC for not picking up the trash at your doorstep

And After that long rant, HAPPY "INDEPENDENCE" DAY

The Recession Proof Nation

The recession is official and the world can see it, The Big One(USA) caused it but the other nations are the one's suffering from it more than the US or the other G-8 countries. I admit the world runs on the excess buying from the average american, So we need to give him/her the money to buy again to keep the developing nations from starving. 

But one point that everyone is missing is the fact that India will not be affected to the similar extent in most ways, for the below-stated reasons:

- We are Smart: We invented the ZERO and that helped the US make the bailout amount as big as possible(with 10 odd "0's", and also to show the company's profits for 2008 = "0". We are the brightest young people in the world because we know more about Math, Science, Entreprenuership and Finance and therefore making bad decisions is not in our DNA(The Americans have a Monopoly on making Bad decisions from Veitnam to the Bailout) So we are sure not to make a bad situation worse. 

- We dont like Living on Debt- except for the current generation of highly paid young professionals who have been watching American sitcoms for the last 10 years, most of the Indian populace doesn't like buying everything on Loan. Be it Cars, Houses, TV's etc. before buying these we always look at financing 80% of the amount from our pockets rather than the Banks.

- We have a sane Banking system- Our banks are very government controlled, which may suggest the socialist side of India, but if these banks are not going under left, right and center I am happy about it. Indiscriminate loans to people who will never give them back is the root of the recession equation(Sub-prime crises). Also the low number of credit cards helps the nation remain in their limits of spending.

- We don't go to war!!-  I sometime cite this as a "Lack of BALLS" from the government but thank god the government does not listen to me. Imagine if George Bush ruled India, we would have gone to war 4 times since the December Highjacking to the Bombay Siege. But I think the developmental agenda  is more important to India and I agree with that after careful consideration.

- America Can't Live without the Friendly Indian on the other side: Be it computers, Call centers, software, financial solutions, America can't live without hiring Indians and rightly so. They wouldn't want Mexicans going"Aye Ombre how many I help you" or Chinese people helping them with their accent and then Computers. It shows that Knowledge is better than being Assembly line robots.Yes India is loosing jobs but it would not oblige these big Corps to shift them elsewhere as India has set itself up to be the KPO destination and we will be till the end of time.

- We are Economical : We have recession proofed our future cuz soon you cash-strapped westerners will be begging us to give the TATA Nano as that will be the only car you can afford thanks to your friendly neighborhood bank :-D, We are trying to invent the cheapest Laptop, Mobile phone and a few other things that we need in the future. 

So India is pretty recession proof, My dad doesn't think it is but from across the oceans the reality looks better. 

The Dance of Democracy- 2009

To,

My imaginary audience (specially Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Mountbatten et al)

Sorry to keep you'll waiting but it's not like ur there, it's just that "I see dead people" is why i talk to you.

So India finally shifts into election mode after months of speculation. It is a good opportunity for the Congress(I) to throw their weight around and show that they are the biggest party in India. But they can fall flat on their face if they make it their main proposition for the elections, I still remember the BJP being in the same position and failing thanks to the infamous "India Shining" Campaign.

So who should our dear voters go for in those 30 seconds in the polling booth? Some options

Congress(Rahul Gandhi/Some other Muppet)- The Democrats of India and their Psuedo-"Secular" agenda, but behind the scenes they have been playing a very dirty game. Winning the elections by giving insane amounts of reservations in a move to "better" the society by creating equality. Making Rahul Gandhi the face of the congress is not going to help, cuz the govt is going to be run by the Italian Lady anyways, we saw how effecftive Dr. Manmohan singh was under that arrangement. 

BJP(L.K. Advani)- The Indian Republicans and their Hindutva (Hindu nation) agenda which would make us the Hindu version of our effing neighbor. I think the BJP should not be voted for unless they come up with a real good reason as to why people should vote for them. I dont think demolishing a Few holy places on the name of  6000 year old imaginary holy places is an appealing agenda to vote for, Nor is having a Hindu nation. 

BSP/3rd front (Mayawati) - There is no way that India would want Mayawati to be the Next PM, no offence to the so called backward castes. Unless I want her statue next to every Gandhi statue in India or the world. She is an evil lady with the intentions of levelling the playing field for "their" side by rushing the majority's rights. The 3rd front will only be there to chip away at the votes of the Big Two and then be in the situation to play coalition politics when it come to government formation. As far as this being the year for CHANGE aka OBAMA for the minorities, it took the US 231 years to elect a minority leader as President and he is a guy who will do a better job than Bush, Can Mayawati even do a better job than I.K. Gujral(PM for a few months)? is my concern   

RJD(Laloo Yadav) - Democracy is almost never going to kick into top gear in my generation, So why don't we vote for Laloo Yadav, We know what he did with the railways and to top it all he will never let there be a dull moment in the parliament. He should be the guy to represent India because he's funny and smart(every girl's ideal guy- trimming the Bush around the ears would work though) On a serious note he will be a part of the Congress coalition but for me the Ideal Candidate for the PM's Chair.

CPI(M)- The communists with their unprogressive agenda should be thrown into freggin russia or N. Korea to teach them what happens if we blindly follow what Karl Marx said in 1920, they lost all the bargaining power when they challenged the congress on the Nuclear deal. And i think except for their strongholds in the East no once else will be stupid enough to vote for them.

Samajwadi Party(Amar Singh)/the other South Indian parties - These parties are there to be a part of the coalition game, so they play with their very customized region to region petty agendas to garner the votes required to make them even more powerful than the winning party.

The Hurriyat Party(Guy with Black Hat and round glasses) - HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAH , i would vote for them to be put on the next train to F***ing Pakistan. 

Me :-)  Yes you all can vote for me and i'll give everyone a big party in the PM's residence, and the opportunity to tell your friends you know the PM, how 'bout that. I think my Imaginary audience would vote for me !!!!

And Btw everyone must be so following Lead India back home, but how many of those so called leaders have actually done something after those hour-long debates on how they will make India a better place ? I think the Middle-Class holds the key, i understand we are fed up of all the bullshit we get from the politicians which never comes to life. But we have to realize as the middle class is no longer a target market for politicians they dont care about our wants anymore. We make up around 55-60% of the population, but the Below poverty line Population of 27% will rule as they all vote and we frankly dont have the time or dignity to stand and the line and make the vote count.

I still think evil agendas like Religion, Reservations, Anti-Reform, Opposition Bashing will be agendas ruling this election too. And Education, Women's Rights, Infrastructure, Unemployment, Human Rights will no even be mentioned, So best of Luck for the next 5 years of hell, whoever wins.

Peace

Critique welcome.