Team Anna and Parliament

Arvind Kejriwal is an active member and spokesperson of Team Anna; and it is known that a person who speaks too much gets involved in disputes. It has happened with Arvind a lot of times. Now his current remarks have created the same situation for him. Addressing an election rally at Ghaziabad near Delhi on Feb. 25, he called Members of Parliament “thieves, looters, rapists and murderers”. When such persons are there in Parliament, “how can you expect Jan Lokpal Bill to be passed by Parliament? How can you expect that you can get reprieve from poverty and corruption.” The language of Arvind was indeed harsh, and the reaction of political parties thereon was also in line with expectations. But young Arvind stands unfazed. On Feb. 26 he, by referring to facts and figures, said the number of members in Parliament who are presently involved in moral crimes, and the number of those who are facing criminal cases. Even those who agree in principle to the aims and objectives of Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption campaign and who lend moral support to Team Anna do not like this language and this manner of the firebrand members of the Team.

This restlessness and irritation
This is because the Anna group deems whatever it has decided in its own wisdom as the last word, and does not pay heed to anyone else. These people consider Lokpal Bill to be the panacea of all corruption, poverty and starvation, and that too the Lokpal Bill which they have drafted on their own, viz. Jan Lokpal Bill, and want that the legislature adopt it immediately. And then they have made the Union Government and its ruling party, Congress, their sole butt of criticism in this regard. Certain ministers in the Union Government are their target. This is why the largest opposition party, even not having been in favour of this sort of legislation, is extending support to Team Anna, whereby the Team is getting much encouragement. But the language they (Team Anna members) are using shows their restlessness and irritation. Arvind Kejriwal and other persons in his age group who are active in Team Anna are restless to see to it that this Bill is enacted sooner. But they do not have any solid ground and effective strategy to make the Indian society upright and free from corruption. They are raising only slogans based on wishes.

What is that solid ground?
But it is not that the attention of Team Anna was not drawn toward this solid ground. It was, and that too in an effective manner. Last year Team Anna visited Jamaat-e-Islami Hind headquarters to express their desire to have a meeting with Amir-e-Jamaat and other functionaries of the Jamaat. Therefore, on July 4, a large delegation including Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal paid a visit to the JIH headquarters. Having listened to their entire deliberation, Amir-e-Jamaat Maulana Syed Jalaluddin Umari expressed his agreement in principle with their objectives but explained to them in some detail: “Your method lacks the factor that ensures man an inward change, viz. the concept of the Creator and Master and the fear of the Day of Judgement, while the concept of God and the Hereafter is necessary for annihilation of all moral ills including corruption…. Man cannot keep from bad deeds unless he has the fear of the supreme being….” It was but natural for the members of the Team to get influenced (with this argument). The deepest impact was visible on Arvind Kejriwal. Expressing this impact, he accepted that his strategy lacks in this aspect and that he “would draw the attention of Anna towards it and would pay another visit for detailed discussion thereon so that we could get enlightened.” Eight months have passed. We don’t know whether Arvind remembers it or not. We hope he does. Therefore it is better that some persons (of their Team) meet him (Amir-e-Jamaat) and discuss it with him.
01/03/12 khabar-O-Nazar by Parwaaz Rahmani, sehrozaDAWAT, translated by: Abu Yusuf