Corrupt babus certify Hazare is four-year-old

In a classical example of  money ruling the roost in the state capital, local municipal officials here issued a birth certificate in the name of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare, according to which he is four years old and is a resident of Lucknow.

A local journalist got this certificate made allegedly “bribing” the officials of the Lucknow Municipal Corporation. The birth certificate bears the signatures of senior officials and mentions Anna’s original name as Kisan Babu Rao. The names of Anna’s father and mother have also been mentioned as Babu Rao and Luxmi Bai, respectively.

The address showed in the certificate is that of the district magistrate’s residence in the city. Ironically, the officials with whose signatures the certificate was issued, did not  bother to check and ascertain whether there was any Kisan Babu Rao and the address is correct or not.

 Incidently, the certificate having last Friday’s date was issued while scores of employees of the corporation, including those from the section that   prepares such certificates, were participating in a  dharna outside the office denouncing corruption and swearing their support for Gandhian Anna Hazare. The employees of the municipal corporation have been holding sit-ins and demonstrations for the past few days in support of Anna Hazare and the officials, which include, many corporators, carrying the tricolor, could be seen shouting anti-corruption slogans. A shocked mayor, Dr. Dinesh Sharma, promised an inquiry and stern action against the guilty officials.

“We have received many complaints. But this one is really shocking,” Sharma said.
In the past also, there have been instances when the transport officials had issued driving licenses in the name of dreaded terrorists.

 Last year, the transport authorities in UP's Mathura district had issued a bogus driving license in the name of 26/11 Mumbai terror attack convict Ajmal Kasab.