MANISH GUPTA
Ranchi, Oct 11: About 900 volunteers from across the state turned up on Tuesday to attend a meet called by Jamshedpur MLA Saryu Roy in Ranchi to celebrate Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan’s birth anniversary and to begin a drive against corruption.
“We just shared a WhatsApp number asking the youth of the state to come forward if they wanted to help eradicate corruption. The huge response from all parts of the state shows they see corruption as a serious disease and want to wipe it out,” Roy said.
The former BJP leader, who has been an anti-corruption crusader, had invited people to register on a WhatsApp number and 880 registrations happened online. Many people turned up at the venue and attended the conference with on-the-spot registration.
“We gather here to celebrate the 120th anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan and we are making it special by taking his campaign further as the anti-corruption drive is a continuous process. It is as relevant today as it was then,” the independent MLA said.
Roy was instrumental in exposing RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav’s involvement in the fodder scam. He even alleged corruption charges against BJP Chief Minister Raghubar Das, whom he defeated in 2019 as a rebel candidate after not getting the BJP ticket.
Revisiting the days of JP Andolan (movement), Roy said that India had just completed 27 years of freedom and widespread misrule and corruption needed urgent attention. Corruption, inflation, unemployment and education policy were the major issues.
While youths were the major force behind the JP movement that resulted in the country being put under emergency, Roy, who initiated the anti-corruption drive at a similar age (he is 71 years), could gather people of all age groups but youths were less.
However, the richness of the ideas that came from a wide section of people from many districts and the state capital were of a high standard. Roy said he would be interested to know the reasons for corruption and how the people believe it can be tackled.
Former MP and socio-political activist Salkhan Murmu suggested five ways to bring down corruption. Checking play of money power in elections; improving the lot of MLA, MP, CM, PM and bureaucrats; eliminating social evils like dowry, expenses in Sraddha and marriage; tribal leaders should go back to their culture of no deceit and theft; and media and judiciary should be sensitive to the cause of reducing corruption.
Several other individuals shared their views and many submitted it in writing.
Other ideas shared at the meeting to eradicate corruption
- Decentralisation of power to panchayats and municipal bodies
- Better conscience can be a significant deterrent to corruption
- If individuals take a pledge to not give bribe in their daily life
- Aware and inspire the youth against corruption and violence
- Works like building roads and drains should take public’s views
- Anti-corruption is a constant work, doesn’t stop with power change
- Aware the commoners about provisions to prevent corruption
- Documentation of anti-corruption success stories for learnings
- No party should give tickets to politicians with criminal cases
- Fair representation of commoners in Parliament, less of crorepatis
- Stop blaming others. You give birth to corruption and promote it.
- Attitude of ‘what will I get from this’ gives birth to corruption, instead it should be ‘what I can do to benefit people’
