Opinion The Anna effect

Mumbai,Kanpur,Bareilly,Lucknow and Delhi-based Inquilab has lashed out at Anna’s cheerleaders. Tushar Gandhi,the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi has been quoted on the front page: “Anna Hazare camera ke peecche bhaag rahe hain (Anna Hazare is chasing cameras). The real purpose of the movement is to defeat the government.” The paper has conducted interviews with some prominent Muslims,who conclude Anna’s movement is “backed by communal elements and is an attempt to ruin the atmosphere in the country.” The interviewees say that “corruption will not be removed by these types of protests and demonstrations,but by generating an environment in the country against corruption.”

Delhi,Mumbai,Lucknow and Dehradun-based Sahafat has written a tough editorial titled ‘The bubble of Anna Hazare’s campaign’. It says Anna Hazare violates the Gandhian spirit and principles. The paper says that “when the MNS’s Raj Thackeray was busy sending non-Maharashtrians out of the state,Hazare supported Thackeray and even issued a statement in his favour.” The paper harks back to the stand taken by some influential papers during the anti-Mandal riots in 1991,who were opposing reservation for the backward classes,and were “90 per cent of the 15 per cent of the population.” The paper alleges,“these are the same people who said no reservation,only merit then.” Hitting out further,Sahafat is of the view that “the RSS is backing this to distract from its purported links with terror being unearthed.” The editorial concludes that “some unelected people cannot be given preference over an elected Parliament.” 

Hyderabad and Bangalore-based daily Siasat on August 17 covers the police picking up Hazare. The editorial is titled: ‘The non-serious action by the Centre’,and comments on how the Centre is “more concerned about cracking down on Hazare’s protest rather than cracking down on corruption.”

Honour in uniform 

Commenting on the Gujarat government’s action against its senior IPS officers,Siasat writes in an editorial on August 12: “The Gujarat government’s action is nothing but a punishment for their stating the truth. The entire nation,in fact,the entire world,knows that the Gujarat riots had the support and help of the government. Ministers of the Narendra Modi cabinet had been involved in these riots,and are currently under trial… These actions are motivated by the sentiment of revenge and are part of the conspiracy to deprive the riot-affected of justice. These attempts must be stopped. And the Narendra Modi government should realise that this country still has a judiciary and Muslims will definitely get justice.”

Rashtriya Sahara,in an editorial on August 14,writes: “What should have been done was to give promotions and awards to these senior officers for their honesty and courage in raising their voice… But on the contrary,one of these IPS officers,Sanjiv Bhatt,was suspended and a chargesheet for indiscipline was slapped on another officer,Rahul Sharma. This decision came a day after the statement of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram in which he said that the Centre could intervene in the dispute between the Gujarat government and the IPS officers,if the officers themselves demanded such help.”

US economy travails

Rashtriya Sahara,in an editorial on August 9,writes: “Somehow,by bowing before the opposition,Barack Obama has succeeded in getting the debt level raised by Congress. But,obviously,this is not a solution,only a small step that postpones the potential humiliation and preserves the US’s image.”

Inquilab,in its editorial on August 8 titled “America: bacha sako to bacha lo ki doobta hoon mein” (I am drowning,save me if you can),says: “It should be clear that this economic decline began during Clinton’s tenure,and George W. Bush made matters worse. Because he had forced his attention and the attention of the American people,in fact,the attention of the entire world towards self-created problems,whose so-called solutions harmed the American economy further. Barack Obama was handed a choking economy. He directed his energy towards ensuring his own stability rather than the stability of the American economy.”

Jamaat-e-Islami’s Daawat,in a front-page commentary on August 13,writes: “It is amazing that after suffering such huge losses,America and those who support its capitalist system are not able to understand that the remedy for debt is not debt,and nor is the remedy for interest even more interest. Instead,serious economic reforms are needed. The Islamic system of economy is emerging as a clear alternative,capturing the world’s interest.”

Compiled by Seema Chishti