Review: Lokpal

review 

Lokpal: Facts and Arguments
Parsa Venkateshwar Rao
Har Anand
Rs. 295; Pp 134
ISBN : 9788124116524
Hard Back

About the book 
This book traces the developments with regard to the Lokpal legislation in the past and in the present. The debate in the Lok Sabha in August 1969 before the passing of the Lokpal Bill is discussed along with the many texts of the Lokpal bills prepared by the Anna Hazare group and the UPA governments as well as that of the five ministers in the Joint Drafting Committee. The work and observations of the Lokyuktas in the states is discussed. It also looks at the political assumptions that each side brings to the debate in the present, and what it means for the political culture and life of the country.

Reviews
Full review here DNA
As the idea for writing this book was suggested to the author by the publisher only in the last week of June this year and the book was out on the stands by the end of August, it was clearly written in a hurry. There are, therefore, many printer’s devils, grammatical errors and disjointed sentences which hamper the flow of reading.

Having said that, it’s a timely book on a hotly-debated subject, and clears a lot of misconceptions about both the government and Team Anna’s version of the proposed Lokpal Bill.

One of the commonest fears about team Anna’s Jan Lokpal Bill is that with its sweeping powers, the Lokpal itself could become a monstrous, corrupt genie impossible to tame. Well, the present draft does have a few provisions to prevent this. For one, once a case is closed, all documents related to it will be treated as public, and every month a list of such cases will be put on the website with reasons for closing the case. Further, all the material related to the case will be provided to anyone seeking it under the Right to Information Act. Second, the hearings before the Lokpal will be video recorded and available to anyone who pays for the copying costs.

Arundhati 'jealous' of our support: Prashant Bhushan

A day after writer Arundhati Roy cast doubts over Anna Hazare's anti-graft campaign saying the civil society's Jan Lokpal Bill is a ''dangerous piece of legislation'', Supreme Court lawyer and civil society representative Prashant Bhushan claimed that there was some substance in the movement; else all sections of society would not have congregated to support the cause.

Addressing a gathering here, Bhushan refuted Roy's statement and that there were some people, who criticized the anti-corruption crusade, but the movement had garnered mass appeal and that is what mattered the most.

"When she (Arundhati Roy) sees that this campaign is being supported by the media, this is a campaign also being supported by a section of corporates, this is a campaign being supported by the middle class, she starts to say things," said Bhushan.

"She says even the World Bank is supporting this anti-corruption campaign, so how can there be anything good in this?" he added.

Full report here Indian Express

Anna is season’s flavour at 17th Delhi Book Fair

Anna Hazare seems to be the flavour of the season.  At the 17th Delhi Book Fair, which opened at Pragati Maidan on Saturday, the social activist almost stole the limelight from the fair’s theme of travel and tourism. While some stalls at the book fair displayed Hazare posters and pictures, a slim biography of Anna Hazare, published by Diamond Pocket Books in both Hindi and English, was flying off the shelves.

“Anna Hazare’s biography is the best seller of the day at our stall. We have sold about 100 copies of the book since morning,” said Ashish Gupta, director Saraswati House, a publisher who has set up a stall here. The stall also shows a large picture of Anna Hazare and the India Against Corruption logo at the cash counter.

The small biography of Hazare in English is called Anna Hazare: The New Revolutionary; while the one in Hindi is titled Krantidoot: Anna Hazare. The small books, apart from a brief biographical sketch of Hazare also has chapters on major scams in India, ‘philosophy of Anna’ , a note on The Jan Lok Pal Bill etc. “There is a lot of interest in the Hazare book. People from varied backgrounds want to know more about the Jan Lokpal,” says a salesman at the Diamond books counter which has prominently displayed copies of the book.

Full report here Hindustan Times

Authors brainstorm on corruption at Delhi Book Fair

Inspired by Anna Hazare's ongoing fast against corruption, writers, poets, playwrights and other authors are set to brainstorm on practical ways to tackle the social menace at the 17th edition of the Delhi Book Fair.

Beginning in the national capital on August 27, the week-long fair will see a seminar on "Corruption: Different Dimension" organised by the Authors Guild of India.

"There are movements all over the country and everybody today is talking about corruption. We thought, however, that as authors we should discuss the issue in an objective manner and try to find possible solutions," S Awasthy, General Secretary, Authors Guild of India told PTI.

Established in 1974, the guild with a membership of 1800 authors, has been participating in every edition of the the Delhi Book Fair.

The Book Fair organised jointly by the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) and The Federation of Indian Publishers (FIP) is attracting as many as 300 Indian and foreign publishers and organisers say they expect 5 lakh visitors this year.

Full report here Outlook

Anna Hazare is not secular: Arundhati Roy

Writer-activist Arundhati Roy has launched a scathing attack on social activist Anna Hazare, the leader of the ongoing anti-corruption movement. She has questioned his secular credentials and further said that the 74-year-old Hazare "supports Raj Thackeray's "Marathi Manoos xenophobia." The article has drawn a barrage of online response. Most are sharply critical of her views.

In an edit page article published on Monday in The Hindu newspaper, she asks, "Who is he really, this new saint, this Voice of the People? Oddly enough we've heard him say nothing about things of urgent concern. Nothing about the farmer's suicides in his neighbourhood, or about Operation Greyhound further away. He doesn't seem to have a view about the government's plans to deploy the Indian Army in the forests of Central India."

Full report here Times of India 

Anna inspires sale of Vivekananda's books

The man who is galvanising an entire nation against graft was himself inspired by a Hindu monk who preached the message of Indian spirituality to the world. Books on Swami Vivekanada are flying off the shelves in Himachal Pradesh after Anna Hazare repeatedly referred to the philosopher-saint as the guiding light of his life.

"I have specially purchased the book, Vivekananda: A Biography by Swami Nikhilananda to understand the ultimate motives of human life," Parul Sood, a management student at Himachal Pradesh University, said.

"As one book has changed the entire life of Anna -- from an ordinary soldier to a crusader against corruption, I am also trying to find out answers to my questions, mainly on aims of a human being, in the book," she said.

Anna Hazare, whose real name is Kisan Baburao Hazare, joined the army as a driver in 1963 at the age of 25 through an emergency recruitment drive. During the 1965 India-Pakistan war, his vehicle came under heavy aerial fire, killing all its occupants except him.

Full report here NDTV