From: Mail Today, 17 October 2011
Editorial
Team Anna shares a trait with Bhushan’s attackers
THE attack on Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan by goons owing allegiance to Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena is not just about the threat that fundamentalist forces present to the liberal space in the country. Almost as significant has been the response of other Team Anna members to Mr Bhushan’s stance that the Kashmiri people have a right of self- determination, and a referendum should be held in the state to decide its future.
The way Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal have pounced on Mr Bhushan for his remarks does not speak highly of their respect for democracy within the team that has taken it upon themselves to rid India of corruption.
While it is all very well for them to make the team’s official position on the Kashmir question clear, the issue here is less about the state and has more to do with Mr Bhushan’s right to free speech.
The Kashmir problem has seen many solutions being put forth and Mr Bhushan’s formula is yet another of them which he, as a citizen of a democratic country, has all the right to articulate. More so, since he is not involved with the settlement of the problem in any way, the position he adopts is not going to change the situation on the ground.
Perhaps it is not all that surprising to find Mr Bhushan isolated within his own team.
After all, having respect for difference of opinion has not been Team Anna’s hallmark.
Mr Bhushan himself may be railing against those who don’t agree to disagree at present, but he and his team have all along been found utterly wanting as far as this democratic virtue is concerned.
Otherwise, they would not have gone to town claiming that their Jan Lokpal Bill is the one and only solution to the problem of corruption in India. They would have been mindful of the criticism leveled against their Bill and tried to incorporate the best features of the other versions of the Lokpal Bill that are in the public domain.
Team Anna’s latest move of campaigning against the Congress during the Hisar parliamentary by- poll on the ground that their Jan Lokpal Bill had not been passed well betrays this dogmatic mindset. A mindset that was liberal would have respected the fact that the Lokpal Bill is under consideration of the parliamentary standing committee and the three key demands raised by Team Anna had been taken up through a parliamentary resolution.
A Lokpal for India
Team Anna shares a trait with Bhushan’s attackers (Editorial, Mail Today)
In Commentary on October 18, 2011 at 9:04 amFrom: Mail Today, 17 October 2011
Editorial
Team Anna shares a trait with Bhushan’s attackers
THE attack on Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan by goons owing allegiance to Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena is not just about the threat that fundamentalist forces present to the liberal space in the country. Almost as significant has been the response of other Team Anna members to Mr Bhushan’s stance that the Kashmiri people have a right of self- determination, and a referendum should be held in the state to decide its future.
The way Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal have pounced on Mr Bhushan for his remarks does not speak highly of their respect for democracy within the team that has taken it upon themselves to rid India of corruption.
While it is all very well for them to make the team’s official position on the Kashmir question clear, the issue here is less about the state and has more to do with Mr Bhushan’s right to free speech.
The Kashmir problem has seen many solutions being put forth and Mr Bhushan’s formula is yet another of them which he, as a citizen of a democratic country, has all the right to articulate. More so, since he is not involved with the settlement of the problem in any way, the position he adopts is not going to change the situation on the ground.
Perhaps it is not all that surprising to find Mr Bhushan isolated within his own team.
After all, having respect for difference of opinion has not been Team Anna’s hallmark.
Mr Bhushan himself may be railing against those who don’t agree to disagree at present, but he and his team have all along been found utterly wanting as far as this democratic virtue is concerned.
Otherwise, they would not have gone to town claiming that their Jan Lokpal Bill is the one and only solution to the problem of corruption in India. They would have been mindful of the criticism leveled against their Bill and tried to incorporate the best features of the other versions of the Lokpal Bill that are in the public domain.
Team Anna’s latest move of campaigning against the Congress during the Hisar parliamentary by- poll on the ground that their Jan Lokpal Bill had not been passed well betrays this dogmatic mindset. A mindset that was liberal would have respected the fact that the Lokpal Bill is under consideration of the parliamentary standing committee and the three key demands raised by Team Anna had been taken up through a parliamentary resolution.
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