Many political leaders and intellectuals have criticised the Anna Hazare campaign on the Lokpal Bill for being anti-democratic and anti-political. But when the political class as a whole has failed to tackle corruption, a campaign that seeks to have a law enacted that will put in place a powerful watchdog is indeed an exercise in democratic politics and within the framework of the Constitution. The critics also forget their history – the 1974 Navnirman movement of Gujarat and the JP movement of 1974-75 were both against corruption.