The attack of dirty-tricks department

  The anti-corruption movement that seemed to start with a lot of promise is now in the danger of being obliterated by the state-sponsored dirty-tricks department itself. Not that one hadn't expected this. I myself have maintained that politicians — of all hues and shapes and parties — can never accept the clauses contained in the draft, for it affects their very survival, but the ferocity of attack from all flanks on those who are spearheading the campaign is unbelievable.

  The shameless manner in which the ruling party has gone about discrediting the non-political members of the committee has shocked almost everybody with a semblance of civility. I was, honestly, surprised at the ease, and alacrity, with which the government agreed to Anna Hazare's demand for a joint committee. It should, if anything, have been a dead giveaway.

  The government clearly had its reasons to nip this in the bud. With a relentless media glare, Anna was fast becoming an icon that the TV-watching class, filled with angst over repeated scams, was waiting to lap up. His frequent, no-nonsense statements and sound bytes would have become increasingly difficult for the government to handle later. Of course, the crafty politicians/lawyers in the ruling class must have already thought through by then the shape this 'nipping in the bud' would take.

  Instead of debating the issues in a civilised manner, in line with their reconciliatory statements to the media during the hunger strike, what started from every flank was the character assassination of some of the committee members. As Anna wrote to Sonia Gandhi a couple of days into character assassination attempts, some senior persons from the ruling party were behind the baseless allegations and it seemed that they had the party's backing. It did not stop with leaked stories to a pliable media alone, every dirty trick in the trade that would do some of the corporate houses proud, was used. To top it all, they also roped in the patron saint of “all that is good” with our politics, Amar Singh.

  Without going into details, the so-called Shanti-Prashant Bhushan tape too had Singh as a protagonist and the judge they refer to is the one at the forefront of the 2G investigations. Now, the ruling party, which is currently under fire for countless scams, is not the only one hurt with this particular scam, a very prominent corporate that has close links with Singh is deeply involved too. So, for the ruling class and the affected corporate, it was like killing two birds with a single shot.

  What the dirty tricks department achieved in one shot was to discredit some of the prominent faces of civil society, so that the general public once again throws up its hands in despair with the common refrain being — they are all the same. In addition, it pitted the anti-corruption icon with not the bigger protagonists who will go unnamed, but a willing Singh whose own political survival is at stake now that he is not part of any major political dispensation. And most importantly, it immediately diverted attention from the task at hand to allegations and counter-allegations. And please rest assured, if the Bhushans were to be replaced with other members in the drafting committee, they would be subjected to the same slander campaign.

  When Anna, in the same letter to Sonia mentioned earlier, wrote in his blunt style that this character assassination is bad for the anti-corruption movement and that the politicians and the political members of the committee indulging in this should be careful for they themselves are at a far greater risk of being exposed than the others, several from the intelligentsia reacted saying Anna is a crybaby. It's a different matter that Anna was being naive with that threat, for he forgot that unlike most in civil society, the corrupt politicians are thick-skinned.

  And this was another flank that the dirty-tricks department unleashed — the so-called intelligentsia. While one can have differences over what all should be contained in the anti-corruption bill and also who should be part of the committee from civil society or on what basis were the members from civil society chosen, the way the hallowed 'educated' class reacted was sickening. When there was some clamour for civility in discussions, these people termed the anti-corruption movement itself as being blackmail, almost telling them that it is like the pot calling the kettle black.

  The way such people manipulate opinions is amazing. It is almost as if those who do not agree with their point of view are morons. So effective are they with their campaign that I have often seen some right-thinking people change their point of view only to be seen as belonging to their exalted camp.

  Anyhow, this was, as I said, expected and I expect the ferocity of attacks and counter-attacks to increase. I have seen how the slander campaign has affected some of those involved. They have spent more time this past one week in fighting off these imaginary allegations than concentrating on the task at hand. This is exactly what the dirty-tricks department wants. Tire them to an extent that they compromise and also lose the buzz among the public by then. The onus is on us, 'the right-thinking people' to ensure that we don't lose focus and provide unstinted support to those fighting for the cause. Our support and demands have to be so relentless that the corrupt tire themselves out.