Political Diary
New Delhi, 4 June 2011
Right To Privacy
LOKPAL BILL
SABOTAGED
By Poonam I Kaushish
Q: How do our netagan tackle the
growing clamour for reining in corruption and bringing about accountability?
Join the sea of humanity quenching its
thirst on a deadly high ball cocktail of Campaign against Corruption courtesy
yoga guru Ramdev? Lap up the Guru’s anti-sleaze diatribe and fasts along with
him at Delhi’s
Ramlila Grounds?
A: Not at all. First our panicky
decrepit leaders hold endless rounds of discussions with Ramdev, like they did
with Anna Hazare and his civil society cohorts in April. Interspersed with long
sermons on morality and probity and liberally sprinkled with promises of coming
clean. When that doesn’t cut ice they pledge to bring forth the 42-year long-pending
Lok Pal Bill to cry a halt to sleaze. Sadly, a gullible civil society and aam
janata fall for this hackneyed line. Forgetting that a leopard never changes
its spots!
Most scandalously, instead of bringing the much-discussed
and much promised Lok Pal Bill and putting in place stringent anti-graft laws. The
Government has sabotaged its intentions and plans to make the Right to Privacy a
Fundamental Right which is likely to be
tabled in Parliament’s monsoon session. Anna Hazare and Ramdev be damned so
much reverence for coming clean! Sic.
According to Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily, the new law would
include the right to confidentiality of communication, protection of his honour
and good name, confidentiality of private or family life, protection from
search, detention or exposure of lawful communication between individuals,
privacy from surveillance.
Besides, confidentiality of banking, financial, medical and
legal information, protection from identity theft of various kinds, protection
of use of a person's photographs, fingerprints, DNA samples and other samples
taken at police stations and other places and protection of data relating to
individual.
True, on the face of it there is nothing wrong with it. Practically
speaking, these are already being observed. For example, it's a part of
professional ethics for a lawyer or a doctor not to reveal details about
clients or patients. The same applies for the banking sector. It would also
address the outrage over the `compromise' of an individual's privacy under the
Unique Identificaton Data, where all personal data will be available at the
click of a mouse. It is also in sync with laws in various countries.
However, coming on the heels of the phone tapping row over
corporate lobbyist Niira Radia's conversations with politicians, industrialist
and journalist which became the raison de atre of the unraveling of the 2G
spectrum scam leading to former telecom Minister Raja, DMK MP Kanimozhi
along-with businessmen being jailed it smells of rotten eggs. An elaborate
charade.
Leaving one with a lurking suspicion than the Government has
no intentions of cleaning up its Augean stables. Instead, it wants to make
things as difficult as possible to ensure their can stay as crooked as ever and
continue to make money under the political sun. Asserts an active top leader:
“We serve the larger interest of the society and country. It’s time to protect
our privacy and enact a law.” The upshot of it all is not the corrupt act, but
enacting laws to protect themselves!
Importantly, this raises pertinent questions: Is it to
protect the aam aadmi’s privacy or
the khaas log? Should our netagan be the epitome of morality and
probity? A notch above ordinary mortals. For us to look up to and respect. People
who will not easily succumb to human weaknesses and foibles? Is the private
life of publicmen a concern of the public?
Arguably, why is the Government afraid of coming clean? If
the Right to Privacy is enforced how will our police and other law enforcing
agencies use decoys, phone-taps, new-age surveillance techniques to crack down
on economic offences? Nab terrorists and criminals to cleanse society of its
bad elements? What happens to elaborate ‘honey traps’ laid by intelligence and
counter-intelligence strategists the world over.
In today’s corrupt environment many strongly feel that the
private life of a public person necessarily needs transparency. They stand for
the strong Gandhian view that a public man has no private parts to shield. That
would be a reflection on his character, integrity and values. The Mahatma was
clear that a man’s public life could never be clean if his private life was
not. The two were indivisible. Hence,
his emphasis on simple clean living and high thinking.
Most of our netagan disagree
and argue: “Gandhian values were given a quiet burial long time ago. We
ritually pay lip service to him, but we have bastardised his values.” Sadly,
this approach flung open the doors for corruption, licentiousness and
immorality. Wherein not only have scams become passé over decades, worse is our
polity’s blasé attitude. It is their birthright to free-load, grab and indulge
at our expense. Accustomed as we are to our law makers being law breakers and
ruling by law.
The new Carpetbaggers. Who will ply whatever you want. Lay
down any law, bend any rule, change any order, transfer any person and fudge
figures. Today, money and bribes are viewed as perks of the job they handle. A
potent cocktail of power.
What next? Indeed, Gandhi’s charkha has come a full circle. Khadi was once symbolic of a true
patriot and sacrifice in the struggle for freedom. Today, it largely
camouflages unabashed opportunism and criminals. An era where our
powers-that-be are pulverizing society. Bringing India to the moral crossroads.
Clearly, the Government needs to seriously think double-time
before bringing in the Right to Privacy.
It needs to look at laws enforce in
other countries. In UK
there is no right to privacy and, therefore, no right of action in the courts
for breach of privacy. However, conventions are followed strictly and
honourably. Wherein a politician bows out of office once a serious allegation
is made. No matter how important he may be.
In America,
the Press is allowed to publish almost any true material about public figures
on the ground that “virtually all human activity reveals the true character of
the person”. Remember, ex-President Clinton who barely escaped impeachment for
converting the Presidential Oval office into the oral (sex) office, courtesy
Monica Lewinsky.
In sum, it is time to pause and ponder. It is not a question
of a leader’s corrupt misdeed. But Anna
Hazare and Ramdev’s a passion for upholding morality. Thus, it is high time to cry a halt to
increasing degradation and start afresh our own experiments with truth. Our
leaders must desist from using the Right to Privacy to fight their political
battles. Or else be prepared to face public sting! ------INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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