A reconstruction of the timeline of events leading up to the launch of Anna Hazare’s fast is very revealing:
Full Google News timeline on how Anna Hazare NGO coalition bubbled up starting with 2nd December 2010 press conference http://is.gd/fFlo6Y—
Offstumped (@offstumped) April 07, 2011
What is however missing in this timeline is a key meeting of the Sonia Gandhi lead National Advisory Council’s Working Group on Transparency and Accountability.
This is bizarre – all key backers of Anna Hazare were also part of NAC working group on LokPal on the Apr 4th http://is.gd/eUUvUw—
Offstumped (@offstumped) April 07, 2011
It is ironic that the meeting included many backers of Anna Hazare’s current movement when the composition of the Working Group reveals a truncated list.
Look at composition of NAC sub group on Lok Pal http://nac.nic.in/subgroup.htm & then look at Apr 4th attendees http://is.gd/eUUvUw—
Offstumped (@offstumped) April 07, 2011
This raises many questions on the process by which non-NAC members are invited to take part in Working Group sessions. This was public hearing for if this were a public hearing then due process would have demanded public notification. This was also not an officially expanded working group for there is no communication to that effect on the participation of non-NAC members within this working group.
What is however most bizarre is the participation of the Karnataka Lok Ayukta in this session.
Also bizarre that Karnataka's Lok Ayukta Santosh Hegde who is supposedly investigating a BJP Govt attended the NAC WG meeting on 4th April—
Offstumped (@offstumped) April 07, 2011
This is not the first time we are seeing conflicts of interest within the NAC.
Two of the members nominated N.C. Saxena and Harsh Mander are also Special Commissioners of the Supreme Court and are involved in civil matters in the Supreme Court. That the Manmohan Singh-Sonia Gandhi lead dispensation does not see a conflict of interest in the same Left Liberal intellectual-activists playing both a Judicial Monitoring role for the Supreme Court and an Advisory role for the Political Party in power at the same time does not augur well for the health of our Democracy.
This incestuous culture of Civil Society intervention has the phrase "Conflict of Interest" written all over it from Mander to Hegde.—
Offstumped (@offstumped) April 07, 2011
In closing it can only be said that it is:
Ironic that those most exercised over discretion in Government stand guilty of ad-hoc exercise of discretion – NAC working group on Lokpal—
Offstumped (@offstumped) April 07, 2011
Given how retired bureaucrats, NGO activists are seeking an unelected role in not just Law Making but also in the process of selection of a Lok Pal and the broad discretionary powers of the Lok Pal be very worried for:
If this is how ad-hoc, discretionary & "conflict of interest" ridden the conduct of "Civil Society" eminences is, what then of Super Lok Pal—
Offstumped (@offstumped) April 07, 2011
Filed under: Anna Hazare, Offstumped, UPA-II Critical Appraisal
Waiting for a blog post dissecting Jan lokpal. Bill 2.1
I would rather be governed by corrupt but elected ‘salt of the earth’ people that snooty intelletuals.
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