Department of Anna Affairs

How the Maharashtra government dealt with a recurring problem

MUMBAI ~ Now that Anna Hazare has tasted blood, his speeches talk about other issues to be tackled and of giving the Government periodic wake-up calls. What is certain is that this is not the last of the Anna versus Centre battle. If Manmohan Singh wants tips on how to deal with this problem, he should take a leaf out of Maharashtra’s manual.

When Vilasrao Deshmukh was the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, he hit upon a novel idea. Inundated with demands and threats of fasts-unto-death by the social crusader, Deshmukh created a separate desk to tackle the problem.

Located in the Chief Minister’s Office, the desk, known simply as the Anna Hazare desk, kept track of the various demands, changes in these demands and action taken by the government. The desk would give regular status briefings to the Chief Minister. The same would then be communicated to Anna via mediators close to both parties.

Deshmukh did not stop here. He would ensure that the social crusader was kept in good humour through regular briefings. He had enlisted the services of persons close to Anna to pass on and receive feedback. During interactions, bureaucrats were called and loudly castigated for delays in Anna’s presence.

The practice has continued. A dedicated staff has been allocated to this desk whose only job is to keep track of all of Anna’s demands and their status. According to a source, even if many of the demands were yet to be dealt with, keeping Anna abreast of progress kept him off their backs. “Once he was told of what was being done, he left us alone,” he says.

About The Author

Haima Deshpande