Anna Hazare makes citizens feel like Dilbert

In today’s Economic Times, Saubhik Chakrabarti writes, “Yes, the cabinet has cleared a Lokpal bill that differs in important respects with the civil society version. But, much more important, it is radically different from what the political class really wanted.  There’s almost zero chance that the government will yield any more. Another round of protest will, therefore, make all stakeholders worse off, especially civil society leaders who might find themselves pinned to the maximalist position. And since there’s no revolution waiting to happen over Lokpal or corruption, another episode of Jantar Mantar-style brinkmanship won’t change the rules of the game.”

My colleague Akshaya Mishra wrote last evening:

“On their part, the civil society members were too combative and too unyielding in their approach. Some of their suggestions were too impractical. Towards the end, their battle, which started off as a people’s movement, had turned into a sorry media spectacle. The government’s draft isn’t all that bad, and there’s scope for improvement. Hope the debate in Parliament ensures that. It is a beginning at least.”

Last night, CNN-IBN’s Rajdeep Sardesai tweeted repeatedly about the issue: “disappointed with reaction of anna and team to lokpal draft. dangerous lack of faith in parliamentary democracy” “the govt lokpal draft has flaws, but there are flaws in jan lokpal bill too. it cant become an all or nothing debate” “it is to credit of anna and co they forced govt to come up with lokpal bill after 42 years. cant they wait a few more months?” These are not lone voices that are saying that Anna Hazare’s ‘all-or-nothing’ position needs to be tempered. The draft Lokpal bill, as cleared by the cabinet, is a considerable victory, where the winners, in a way, do not realise that they’ve won. The bill will certainly be presented in the next session of parliament — and some form of a bill will be passed and become law. With that, the negotiating power of Anna and team will diminish considerably — and someone ought to tell Anna that. [caption id=“attachment_50409” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Anna needs to understand that one of the greatest attributes of a good negotiator is for him to be a great listener. Reuters”]  [/caption] Negotiating is about understanding the possible outcomes and scenarios, understanding the relative strengths and weaknesses of the people involved and taking a calculated gamble. Even this watered-down version of the bill will see large sections of Anna’s considerable support base erode if he continues with this rigid position. It’s important to remember that citizens of this country are tired — and another spell of tension and confrontation is certainly not what the doctor ordered. No one (including Saubhik Chakrabarty, Akshay Mishra and Rajdeep Sardesai) is suggesting that Anna Hazare should hang his boots up now that the bill has been cleared by the Union Cabinet; he’ll get support from all and sundry if he battles on. But the battle has to be fought more intelligently. The rhetoric has to be turned down; Anna needs to be graceful in the victory, engage with the ‘enemy’ and work on getting the Lokpal Bill, once it is passed, improved by convincing the Government in power (it might be another) of the need for changes. Laws, once made, are not cast in stone. They can be amended any number of times as the need is felt. Anna needs to understand that one of the greatest attributes of a good negotiator is for him to be a great listener. Anna and team do not listen to the constructive criticism that is getting noisier by the day. This morning, I tread Saubhik Chakrabarti’s opinion piece and moved to the facing page to crack the crossword. Before I did that, I glanced at the Dilbert strip below the crossword, and this is what I read : Dilbert: “Did you read my comments on the two alternatives?” Pointy-haired boss: “No.” Dilbert: I recommended option two because neither plan will work, but option one is way more expensive.” Pointy-haired boss: “I already approved option one.” Dilbert: “If you need any more help, just let me know.” And I wonder why Anna Hazare reminds me of the Pointy-haired boss and why I feel like Dilbert. And Anna, there’s a growing tribe of Dilberts…