Lokpal literally means "protector of the people" and it is a concept that promises to root out corruption. However, the Lokpal Bill fiasco has been raging on for such a long time with so many twists, turns and sub-plots that we can have a look at the A to Z of it all....
A for Anna Hazare
This is where it all really began. Anna sahib launched his own style of Satyagraha at Jantar Mantra and threatened the Congress empire with a fast unto death. The initial results were very encouraging and members of "civil society" became part of the Lokpal panel and the Congress seemed keen on the issue of corruption, till....
B for Baba Ramdev
....the mercurial Baba Ramdev took over and it’s been controversies all the way. Why did he go on a fast? Was there a secret deal with the government? Why was there a midnight raid at the Ramlila grounds? Why did Ramdev finally call off the fast? Why is the government investigating corruption charges against him? More questions than answers!
C for Corruption
India is among the most corrupt countries in the world. Many of our legislators have a record number of charges against them. We have billions of dollars of black money stashed away in Swiss banks. A tall order to set all that right and we are still stuck at the Lokpal draft stage!
D for Digvijay Singh
A man everyone has come to hate and the nearest things to Goebbels that India has had. Digvijay has an opinion on almost everything. From lashing out at both Hazare and Ramdev to smelling an RSS conspiracy to calling the whole thing a nautanki, Digvijay has firmly stayed in the limelight. Last heard Hazare wanted him admitted in an asylum.
E for Emergency
The action of initiating police action against thousands of sleeping peaceful protestors and arresting Ramdev, throwing him out of Delhi was likened to the Emergency. It was an action that received widespread condemnation and briefly united the discordant voices of the Lokpal bill.
Image: Social activist Anna Hazare, a member of a government-appointed committee drafting legislation for a corruption watchdog, is silhouetted as he listens during a day-long protest hunger strike against corruption near Rajghat, the memorial to Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi on June 8, 2011.
Copyright AFP. Any unauthorised reproduction is prohibited
