Prominent personalities, including writers and filmmakers, here on Friday expressed their support to social activist Anna Hazare’s fast-unto-death for enactment of a Lokpal Bill to weed out corruption from public life.
“It is wonderful the way the civil society is responding to the cause. This is the way democracy should function. We can hear the voice of the people in the candlelight marches and all the spontaneous peaceful demonstrations,” celebrated filmmaker Aparna Sen said.
Sen, who had earlier hit the streets in protest against Nandigram firing two years ago, expressed her solidarity with the Gandhian social worker whose agitation for bringing transparency in political life entered the fourth day.
“I fully support Mr Anna Hazare...A peaceful revolution seems to have started and there is hope yet for India,” Sen said.
Expressing his willingness to be present at the venue of Hazare’s fast, Sahitya Akademi president Sunil Gangopadhyay said, “If I go to Delhi and the impasse continues, I shall certainly turn up at the place and offer my open support.” Mr Gangopadhyay said he was ready to pledge support to any movement in support of Mr Hazare’s cause in Kolkata.
“The system in our country is such that public money is swindled unabashedly and the common man just watches helplessly,” he said.
“I can’t take the initiative at this age, but I am willing to lend my support and be present physically if there is any protest here in support of the 72-year-old social worker,” the eminent Bengali writer said.
Expressing outrage over mounting corruption in the present society, internationally-known film director Goutam Ghosh said, “The common man can see how certain people are sitting on the mountain of corruption and hence losing all respect in the political class.
“Let such movement by a respected figure jolt the establishment and break the stupor. I myself feel numbed to hear about so much corruption in different ways and forms and feel enraged,” Ghose said.
Filmmaker Budhadeb Dasgupta endorsed the decision to ask political figures like Uma Bharati to leave the venue of Hazare’s fast, saying, “The corrupt political class has lost all accountability and thrown the country into an abyss of corruption.” He said the movement should be supported in every forum, including the social networking sites, like Facebook and Twitter.
Echoing Aparna Sen, cerebral film director and theatre personality Suman Mukhopadhyay said, “The country has entered into a phase of people’s movement to cleanse the system and this augurs well for any real democracy...”