Call to Register for Jan LokPal Bill: Hoax

Ever saw this text?

"The Government has put condition to get 25 crore people to support Jan LokPal. To give your support call 02261550789 (as given by Kiran Bedi) from your mobile no. Your call will disconnect after 1 ring and your no registered automatically. You will get an SMS confirming this. I did this. Do it and pass to all your friends to make India corruption free. It is now or never...!!!.. (IT WORKS).."

Sometimes the number of people to support is different, and sometimes Dr. Kiran Bedi's name is not mentioned, but that's the content.

The phone number belongs to IndianAgainstCorruption.Org, which is also behind the campaign. The mention of Dr. Kiran Bedi and "IT WORKS" is highly misleading, to say the least. While I appreciate IAC for doing what they are doing for the campaign, I really wonder if misleading is the only modus operandi that works for them! And, I am very disappointed to see so-called educated people to fall for it just like that.

25 crores is less than 20% of the country's population. It can NOT be a plebiscite even if 25 crores support a cause. And, IF the Government of India did really put forth any such condition (with whatever amount of people), as a RULE, the notice should be published more than once in all leading newspapers of the country.

...Today, IndiaAgainstCorruption (IAC) is doing it for a good cause, and people may ask me why I have a problem. What if it's a terrorist outfit tomorrow that wants to get hold of several valid mobile numbers for their activities? Should we give a missed call mindlessly, just like that? (N.B.: Let me clarify that I am a supporter of IndiaAgainstCorruption myself, and I believe they intend only good and nothing bad. I signed their online petition, filled the online referendum, and fasted with Anna Hazare much before the "missed call campaign" started.)

We are all frustrated about the corruption, yes, and let's all do something against it too! But, let's also use our brains - and even conscience - in the process. Let's stop piracy, jumping traffic lights, trying to sneak in extra dutiable goods in your bags when returning to India from a foreign country, and **let's stop being ignorant**!! Educated people in any country do NOT have a right to be ignorant, IMHO!

...Sorry to sound harsh, but India is corrupt ONLY because of fools like us who are literates but are not educated.

So, should you register or not? I'd suggest signing up in the online referendum posted at http://www.indiaagainstcorruption.org/ instead. The ultimate choice is yours, of course!

Addendum: http://www.deccanherald.com/content/169154/missed-call-campaign-lokpal-bill.html says that the IAC campaign ended on June 28. Thanks to a brother of mine for this link. (The link says that the campaign was initiated by a sympathizer of IAC, but then the (a?) leader of IAC speaks about it and thus IAC does know of the campaign though it may not have initiated the campaign. The phone number still, however, appears on the top of the IAC homepage and "About Us" page.)