All parties wait — with questions for Anna and his team

While most regional players are reticent to state their position,the RJD openly challenges the main features of Team Anna’s version of the Lokpal while Mehbooba Mufti’s PDP offers virtual blanket support.

The BJP,resentful at not being invited into the government-civil society joint drafting committee,says it will take a public stand only when the government presents its final draft in Parliament. But its unease can be read between the lines. Both the CPI and CPM,on the other hand,articulate sharp differences with the Lokpal of Team Anna’s imagination even as they underline their distance from the government’s idea of the institution.

A top BJP leader admitted to having reservations about the “populist” definition of the Lokpal’s powers as envisaged by Team Anna,but refused to put them on record lest they “embarrass” his party.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan,touted as a BJP chief minister who has taken conspicuous anti-corruption measures,told The Indian Express that it is his experience that corruption can be weeded out by plugging leaks in the system and bringing in enabling laws.

“We have tried to minimise the possibilities of corruption by cutting out middlemen and giving subsidies directly… and through e-tendering… We brought in the MP Public Services Guarantee Act in 2010 and we are increasing the number of services under its ambit.” His government awaits Presidential signature on a new law that will enable the state to create special courts to try the corrupt and impound their property,he pointed out.

Asked about the role of the state counterpart of the Lokpal (Lok Ayukta),his response was tellingly terse: “He (the Lok Ayukta) is working separately.”

At the other end of the political spectrum,the Left parties show little hesitation in cutting down to size the institution to-be.

Senior CPM leader Nilotpal Basu said the Left parties believe the PM must be included in the ambit of the proposed Lokpal but emphasised that “corruption cannot be dealt with in a one-dimensional way. The fight must be multi-pronged.” The Lokpal,he said,should confine itself to the conduct of the executive and legislature outside Parliament,because inside the House,Parliament is supreme.

“Team Anna doesn’t understand the basic nature of corruption,the role of the corporates,” Basu said. Yet,“they are talking of a super corruption regulator,sweeping in its breadth.” Civil society,he said “can be a conscience keeper,but legislation is the prerogative of the legislature.” Post-liberalisation,there is a systematic effort world-wide to undermine the role of elected representatives and replace them with “experts” by social elites,he said.

Echoing this was CPI general secretary AB Bardhan. “I want an effective Lokpal but in trying to be strong,don’t chew off more than you can eat.” The five people in Team Anna are men of reputation and integrity,he said,but their campaign is “not sustainable”. By “outsourcing lawmaking” and “pushing aside parties”,the government has facilitated an “attack on parliamentary democracy”,he said.

Those who rushed to Anna and to Ramdev are the “the business tycoons and corporates” but “the last word belongs to Parliament,not to any group of individuals”,he said.

Senior RJD leader Jagdananda Singh shared Left reservations on the Lokpal but differed on the inclusion of the PM.

“The PM is the rallying point of a nation’s faith and trust. The individual can be punished but the office cannot ever be put in the dock. There is only one place where the voice of the poor can be heard. That is the Vidhan Sabha and Lok Sabha,” he said.

Team Anna’s “this Lok Pal or else” approach was akin to “non-violent extremism”,said Singh. “The fight against corruption has been lost in the din over the Lokpal.”

For PDP’s Mehbooba Mufti,an all-powerful Lokpal is a “bitter pill” and a “wake-up call”. “The pity is that such a scrupulously honest PM leads the most corrupt government. We need a powerful Lokpal. No one should be above it… We have criminals in Parliament,we have seen MPs take bribes” she said. “Maybe we need a revolution.”

The SP is yet to receive official word on the Lokpal,said its UP chief Akhilesh Yadav. A BSP leader,speaking on condition of anonymity,called his party’s position on the Lokpal “wishy-washy”.

The Indian Express contacted the AIADMK,DMK and TDP,but only a TDP leader was willing to articulate a position on record. His party is yet to discuss the matter,said TDP MP Mysoora Reddy,but he believed the Lokpal must include the PM and higher judiciary. At the same time,“the Lokpal must not become authoritarian and supercede the constitutional arrangements of checks and counter-checks”.

Team Anna cannot dictate terms to Parliament,Reddy said. “In a democracy,it is not in good taste,” he said.

A senior DMK MP said the party position on the Lokpal would be placed in Parliament and would be determined keeping in mind the “compromises” necessitated by coalition compulsions. For now,the DMK has indicated that the PM must be brought under the Lokpal.