I have kept the title simple since nothing fancy is required to pull people's attention towards this! But in this post I won't be putting forth my views but a mere report on what Dr. Ashwin Mahesh ,co-ordinator for IAC Bangalore spoke at the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs whom I had a chance to listen to. I am not writing this just to tell you that I had been there but that he offered a brilliant and practical insight into the Jan Lokpal which is definitely worth sharing. Of course it is not going to be a detailed report but points that specially caught my attention.
It is all fine to say that we need an anti corruption body but there are a few difficulties that will be faced . Most of the staff in this body will be deputed rather than independent. Now how can anybody expect a person to investigate the department he actually belongs to when he knows that he has to go back as soon as his term is over.Also it is very difficult for immediate investigation to be launched since powers given to them are not sufficient. Even if they do find culprits, they can only 'recommend' something rather than take action!! :D
All our elected representatives like to remind us that they are elected but they seem to be forgetting that they are our representatives! They keep harping about how the Parliament is 'Supreme' but forget who helped make it.Our so-called 'supreme' Parliament hasn't voted down a bill since 27 years!! And once 18 bills have been passed in 2 minutes!! a record time indeed!Yet they have been 'unable' to pass the Lokpal bill though it has been introduced more than 8 times. That too a version that is so dilute. All so clearly shows how 'serious' the government is in policy making and how much our dear MPs know the bills they passed. Most of them don't even read it and just say 'aye' since their parties ask them to.
There are a few fundamental questions we need to ask :
- What is corruption?
- Who should be the Lokpal?
-Can Lokpal launch suo moto investigation?
-Can it have its own machinery and finances?
-Can it initiate prosecution?
-Should IAS and IPS officers be punished?
-Should the judiciary be covered?
-Should the prime minister be covered?
-Should legislative conduct be covered?
The government and the civil society have answers to these or rather we must probably call them opinions. Some of them are being debated upon in the drafting committee and some of them ignored for their own good. There will be new questions each time and answers may not be immediate or very satisfactory. Unfortunately what the five ministers call 'government opinion' is not so. In fact most of the MPs are not even bothered about answering these since all they have to do is either say 'aye' or 'nay' whatever their party tells them to! And they go about questioning if the civil society members 'represent' the society! Is this democratic??
Now most of the people ask "how is it going to benefit me?" Dr. Ashwin has some very valid points-
* Our representatives will truly become 'public servants'. They will do what they are actually supposed to do..serve people!
*Resources will be used better. People are already thinking about how black money could've been put to use.
*Administrative machinery will become more local which is the need of the day since we interact much more with the local bodies like the RTO rather than the MPs.
*Processes and public services will be more transparent, efficient and easily available.
*Most importantly, It will reinforce the idea that citizens are supreme in a democracy (not the parliament as they claim) which will give people a hope to survive and feel that things are going in the right direction.
A thing to keep in mind is that all the goals are long term and Lokpal is not a quick and magical solution to all the existing problems. But surely we are headed in the right direction!
Corruption saaku
Jan Lokpal beku!
It is all fine to say that we need an anti corruption body but there are a few difficulties that will be faced . Most of the staff in this body will be deputed rather than independent. Now how can anybody expect a person to investigate the department he actually belongs to when he knows that he has to go back as soon as his term is over.Also it is very difficult for immediate investigation to be launched since powers given to them are not sufficient. Even if they do find culprits, they can only 'recommend' something rather than take action!! :D
All our elected representatives like to remind us that they are elected but they seem to be forgetting that they are our representatives! They keep harping about how the Parliament is 'Supreme' but forget who helped make it.Our so-called 'supreme' Parliament hasn't voted down a bill since 27 years!! And once 18 bills have been passed in 2 minutes!! a record time indeed!Yet they have been 'unable' to pass the Lokpal bill though it has been introduced more than 8 times. That too a version that is so dilute. All so clearly shows how 'serious' the government is in policy making and how much our dear MPs know the bills they passed. Most of them don't even read it and just say 'aye' since their parties ask them to.
There are a few fundamental questions we need to ask :
- What is corruption?
- Who should be the Lokpal?
-Can Lokpal launch suo moto investigation?
-Can it have its own machinery and finances?
-Can it initiate prosecution?
-Should IAS and IPS officers be punished?
-Should the judiciary be covered?
-Should the prime minister be covered?
-Should legislative conduct be covered?
The government and the civil society have answers to these or rather we must probably call them opinions. Some of them are being debated upon in the drafting committee and some of them ignored for their own good. There will be new questions each time and answers may not be immediate or very satisfactory. Unfortunately what the five ministers call 'government opinion' is not so. In fact most of the MPs are not even bothered about answering these since all they have to do is either say 'aye' or 'nay' whatever their party tells them to! And they go about questioning if the civil society members 'represent' the society! Is this democratic??
Now most of the people ask "how is it going to benefit me?" Dr. Ashwin has some very valid points-
* Our representatives will truly become 'public servants'. They will do what they are actually supposed to do..serve people!
*Resources will be used better. People are already thinking about how black money could've been put to use.
*Administrative machinery will become more local which is the need of the day since we interact much more with the local bodies like the RTO rather than the MPs.
*Processes and public services will be more transparent, efficient and easily available.
*Most importantly, It will reinforce the idea that citizens are supreme in a democracy (not the parliament as they claim) which will give people a hope to survive and feel that things are going in the right direction.
A thing to keep in mind is that all the goals are long term and Lokpal is not a quick and magical solution to all the existing problems. But surely we are headed in the right direction!
Corruption saaku
Jan Lokpal beku!
