New Delhi:
After a brief bout of illness, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare is back in action. But this time, instead of the Lokpal Bill - a cause that he championed for throughout last year - it is the plight of whistleblowers in the country that the 74-year-old activist has decided to focus on. The veteran anti-graft activist is on a day-long fast at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, demanding adequate protection for whistleblowers in the country.
"25 people are dead, but this government has gone dumb and deaf. It is not listening to the cries of people," Mr Hazare said before setting out for the venue of his fast. The septuagenarian's change of agenda is significant given the massive furore caused by the death of IPS officer Narendra Kumar Singh who was killed on March 8 allegedly by the mining mafia in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh. Mr Singh, who was on patrol duty, had tried to stop a tractor-trolley loaded with stones but was run over by the driver of the trolley. Mr Singh had seized many vehicles carrying illegally-mined stones and sand in the area in the past and is hence believed to have been murdered.
Mr Singh's uncle, who alongwith the police officer's family is also present at the fast, told NDTV that though they had full faith in the CBI which is probing the murder, they were with Mr Hazare in his fight for the cause.
(Watch)The IPS officer is just one among several people, who have been killed in recent years after they tried to blow the lid off corruption in the country. "Manjunath had raised the issue of adultery in oil...He is no more, the adultery is continuing...Narendra Kumar is no more. He had raised his voice against corruption. They had asked the government for protection, but they were not provided protection. In the Jan Lokpal Bill we want, there is a provision for protecting whistleblowers," said Arvind Kejriwal, one of Mr Hazare's key aides who also comprise what is known as Team Anna.
(Watch)India now has a Whistleblowers' Protection Bill in place that seeks to set up a regular mechanism to encourage persons to disclose information on corruption or willful misuse of power by public servants, including ministers, by providing them adequate protection. This bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last year amidst the debate and vote on the Lokpal Bill.
The contentious bill found broad mention and is expected to do so at Jantar Mantar - the site which has now become synonymous with the Mr Hazare's fight against corruption. Mr Hazare had, in August last year, held an epic 12-day fast at this very place in his fight for the Lokpal Bill - an event that galvanised almost an entire nation, forcing the government to accede to three key demands that he wanted incorporated in the then proposed anti-graft legislation. The Lokpal Bill intends to create an ombudsman tasked to check cases of corruption among government servants. It has been mired in controversy over a strong and public disagreement between the government and Mr Hazare and his group of activists over key tenets of the legislation. An effort to iron out the differences in the form of a drafting committee - comprising 10 members with five drawn from the government as well as the civil society - also failed miserably with the rift within the two parties widening with a very public, and at times, nasty verbal duel. Some of the main sticking points that have thus far left Team Anna dissatisfied with the government's version of the Lokpal Bill include bringing the Central Bureau of Investigation.