Anna in Thambi land.

TNN; Apr 7, 2011,

CHENNAI: V Gopalakrishnan, an anti-corruption crusader in Chennai, recently wanted to know how to get police permission for a hunger strike during the time of elections. Electrified by Anna Hazare, Gopalakrishnan felt that something dramatic needs to happen to focus people's attention on corruption and create a mass effect. Peering from behind a mass of paperwork relating to his right to information (RTI) applications, Gopalakrishnan asked: "I am ready to start my fast even if nobody joins me."

Social activist Anna Hazare's continued fast in New Delhi has come as a morale-booster for campaigners such as Gopalakrishnan. While these activists have been succcessful in their local villages and towns, their individual efforts have remained isolated, receiving little publicity in the media. The activists are hoping for an Anna Hazare moment in Tamil Nadu.

"Hazare's fast has inspired me and we are also eager to do something to attract the attention of the rulers to root out corruption," said N Baskaran, a senior citizen in Pollachi. Baskaran chose to voluntarily resign his village administrative officer job unable to bear with the corruption in governance to become a right to information (RTI) campaigner.

For R Balakrishnan, a resident of Mambedu village in Tiruvannamalai, who has been fighting against irregularities in stone quarries and revenue offices in his district, RTI has come as a weapon to fight against stone quarry irregularities and corruption at revenue offices in his district. "As corruption has taken new forms now, Hazare's agitation shows that we need to intensify our movement," he said.

With Assembly polls nearing, many activists are turning their attention to politics and the conduct of elections. The Anti-Corruption Movement (ACM) in Chennai, which has been working on electoral reforms, is now demanding that the election commission should display asset affidavits filed by candidates in every polling booth. "`In a country where a huge population does not have internet access, it is not enough to upload the affidavits on the EC website. People should know the antecedents and details of assets of the candidates before they vote,'' said S M Arasu, state general secretay of ACM.

Taking the movement forward, Makkal Sakthi Katchi, the state unit of Lok Satta Party founded by Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan, has fielded candidates in 36 constituencies in Tamil Nadu in the coming assembly polls. "When promises of freebies and cash have become the centre of election campaign, our aim is to create a new political culture in Tamil Nadu, for which wehave invited educated people to enter politics and not be mute spectators,'' said Senthil Kumar Arumugam, Makkal Sakthi Katchi candidate for Velachery constituency.