Let us not bluff the people more on corruption and politics

Beware of the cliches Purnima Tripathi in Frontline doubts whether going political is the right decision by Team Anna while it articulates the issues to derive support for its decision. But the perception of the Team is as confused as it has been on issues of the movement ever, since inception. Firstly, it was a single-issue based movement. Now, it is advancing four issues instead for utilizing the political space available according to it between UPA and NDA, while Baba has two issues to go, by utilizing the support from NDA. Both, Anna Team and Baba are eyeing the coming Lok Sabha election in 2014 to achieve success on the respective issues. Both expect change in the system through this ensuing struggle. Nothing strange, all this has been happening on the eve of elections in the past. While Yoginder Yadav defends the decision of the Team Anna to go political and, with many ifs and buts is hopeful of its success given the centrality of corruption as an issue, Shanti Bhushan thinks it will require 100 per cent clean, tested, motivated, incorruptible and inspired people working for it without personal ambitions. He claims that only educated youth and middle-class professional such as lawyers is the section that drives change and leads a revolution. To buttress his argument, he cites that it was the case with our freedom struggle also. So far so good, but how it squares with reality? Anna Team has gone political only to punish mainstream political parties who have not responded to his call. But all political parties come into existence only to punish existing ones, so nothing new in this. Anna team is labouring hard with the perception that corruption has attained the centrality of the issues today. V P Singh once was successful to dislodge Congress on this issue long back. It is not a long story to forget so early. He had youths and professionals with him for a change. If we forget for a while that VP Singh could get into power with this slogan once, corruption has multiplied many times since then. How people are benefitted? Same was the story for JP movement. How Team Anna assures that the tale will be different this time with the same type of entourage? It is a tall claim that corruption is central to social life today; rather such a claim only helped in digression from the real issues and save the system as the mainstream political parties are doing for the last six decades. In fact, corruption is the lubricant of capitalist growth with democratic protestations having the rule of law as its creed. Capitalist growth cannot flourish with the rule of law in place. It needs circumventing the law and laid down procedure to amass wealth by cheating the society of its due. Team Anna has been evading the root of the disease in present day society. What is central then for any movement to remain honest to the people today? When the dispensation had announced to go liberal in 1994, it was the time to strike. But unfortunately, people relied on the mainstream political parties to act who were wedded to capitalism instead. If there is a political party by Team Anna, the fight will remain to become a part of this mainstream and the people again will remain marginalized in the visualized change! The situation was quite different during Indian freedom movement. Now we are dealing with a different India. The example will only help confusing the issue. Moreover, when India led the freedom struggle it

could not remain clean after getting power and Bharat is suffering because of it. Shanti Bhushan must be knowing all this.