Anna Hazare’s fast at Ramlila Maidan had a profound impact in Punjab , Haryana and their joint Capital Chandigarh, forcing the politicians of the region to take a call and then keep changing their stance depending on the direction the wind was blowing.
This was due to the fact that a lot of players on either side of the divide – team Anna or the Congress and even the BJP have a Chandigarh Punjab or Haryana connect. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has to take a political stand on the Jan Lokpal, has a house in Chandigarh Ludhiana
On the other side of the divide, Kiran Bedi has her roots and family in Amritsar Chandigarh
With the movement and the accompanying media coverage going on for days together, there were changes in the position of the prominent parties in the region – Shiromani Akal Dal, Congress, BJP and the INLD.
But at the end of the day, it turned out to be the pot calling the kettle black. Several leaders, themselves battling severe charges of irregularities, facing a series of court cases and CBI investigations on corruption, have started supporting Anna Hazare. In a twist of irony, INLD chief Om Prakash Chautala came out openly in support of Anna and disrupted the proceedings of the Assembly asking for a resolution on the Jan Lokpal Bill even as a CBI court in Delhi was framing charges against him and his son. Perhaps the intention of some of the politicians could be to wash off their past sins of corruption in the Anna wave, sweeping the country.
Chautala is not alone. There are others too. I am not pointing fingers at anyone as almost all politically aware citizens of the north, and a majority of the population comes in this category, know who is facing court cases and where. Some of them played a role in belittling Anna’s effort at Ramlila Maidan by publicly supporting him like the Punjab’s very own Monika Bedi, the wife (no one knows if she has become former wife) of notorious gangster Abu Salem. It would have been better had they remained neutral in the entire episode. This would have served them and Anna better.
Fighting anti-incumbency in poll bound Punjab , the Parkash Singh Badal government also rode on the Anna wave and supported the Jan Lokpal Bill. The Akali Dal thinks that with Anna hogging the limelight and his movement clearly against the Congress and the UPA, its coalition with BJP has a serious chance of coming back to power in the state as the Congress remains the only opposition in Punjab . While Badal wanted the PM out of Jan Lokpal in the initial days of the fast, he changed tracks and at the concluding stages, wanted the PM too in the ambit of the Bill
A party repeating its poll performance might not have happened in Punjab for several decades now, but Anna’s effort and its cascading effect in Punjab has given a lifeline to the Badal government. So much so that the political analysts in the region and even the bureaucrats, who are the first to sense which way the political wind is blowing, are not sure about the outcome at this point of time. For them it is a 50:50 after the latest turn of events.
The SAD points out that Anna is asking for the implementation of a Citizen’s charter with a time bound delivery of services. They say that Punjab has done it and are all set to blow their trumpet all the way till the Assembly elections conclude in February. The SAD leaders say that corruption as an issue has become the single most important issue in Punjab and it was here that it has an advantage.
Sensing that the anti-graft crusade indeed has merits and the SAD was attempting to take benefits from its fallout, the Punjab Congress, after dismissing it initially discovered that Anna indeed had rare qualities and sympathised with the septuagenarian. PCC chief Captain Amarinder Singh charged the Badals with corruption and kept repeating it in his press conferences throughout the duration of the fast at Ramlila Maidan.
Ever since the Anna crescendo began, the Vigilance Bureau in both Punjab and Haryana became active catching one patwari here and an SP somewhere. Revenue officials were also caught along with those of the Power department and other low level functionaries to show their seriousness in tackling graft. The CBI too swung into action and caught two Punjab Police Services Officers in Chandigarh
But I am not sure what would happen once the media hype gets over, Anna returns to Ralegaon-Siddhi in Maharashtra and the Bedis, Kejriwals and Bhushans go back to their primary jobs.
Cynics here argue that the politicians have made enough in all these years in power and this would last them a few generations – the proverbial seven generations if not more. They do not need anything now even if the proposed Lokpal indeed becomes a panacea of all ills in the society as is being projected by the team Anna and corruption as a word would have to be removed from the Indian variants of the Oxford
Cynics could say what they want. But one thing is for sure. Corruption as an issue per se is as old as 1000 BC if not more. Everyone since time immemorial wanted an end to it. People, nevertheless, would watch the face which is speaking against corruption to be assured of sincerity and give a positive electoral verdict. I am not sure there are many.
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