Sunday, April 10, 2011

10 Apr, 2011, 10.57AM IST,TNN Lokpal Bill: Four catalysts of change during Anna campaign

By A.K.Shema- Arvind Kejriwal

An IIT graduate, Kejriwal joined the Indian Revenue Service in 1992 only to realize that "much of the corruption in government is owing to lack of transparency in the process". In 2006, he quit his job to work full time as a social activist. Now, Kejriwal is one of the main people behind the campaign for a Jan Lokpal Bill. On Saturday, as the government accepted civil society groups' demand to include them in the drafting of the bill, Kejriwal called it a "victory of the people of India".

Santosh Hegde

After retiring as Supreme Court judge in June 2005, Hegde was appointed Lokayukta of Karnataka in 2006. During his tenure, Hegde exposed major irregularities in Bellary's mining industry and recommended banning iron ore exports. In his campaign against corruption, Justice Hegde caught babus and netas in the act. Now, Hegde has accepted the government's decision to appoint him to the 10-member panel that will draft the Lokpal Bill. "Though the government has met our requests, powers against netas and requirement for sanction for prosecution are needed to strengthen the institutions," he says.

Kiran Bedi

India's first woman IPS officer has always had the shining image of an upright and no-nonsense officer. She took voluntary retirement from the service in 2007 and ever since, has been involved in various campaigns for social justice. Last year, her attempt to become Chief Information Commissioner failed, leading Bedi to plunge into the campaign for the Jan Lokpal Bill. "People who get blessings from Anna Hazare do not need anything else to devote to the country. We are getting the inspiration of sacrifice from Anna Hazare," says Bedi, who was at Jantar Mantar throughout Hazare's fast unto death.

Swami Agnivesh

A law and economics graduate from the University of Calcutta, Swami Agnivesh lectured on business management in 1963. In 1977, Agnivesh became an MLA and served as a minister in the Haryana government. In recent months, he has been acting as an interlocutor between the government and Maoist rebels. On Saturday, as the government issued a notification on the Jan Lokpal Bill, the saffron-clad social activist shouted from the dais that the fight had just started and this was not the end.

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