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Lokpal- Coming, Coming Not Coming!
Writing in the report “Problems of Redressal of
Citizens’ Grievances” for the Administrative Reforms Commission headed by
Morarji Desai, in 1960s, two special authorities were proposed to be created to
redress citizens complaints. They were, Lokpal & Lokayukta.
It was in 1968, for the first time The Lokpal Bill
was introduced. Lokpal was envisaged as an anti-corruption institution.
Although in 1968, India was not as corrupt as it is today, somehow, no serious
effort was made at least until 2010 towards this end. Of course, some feeble attempts
were made in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998 and 2001 by allocating some
funds in the union budget and creating a kind of committees to look into some
kind of drafting for a possible enactment. Being Indian democracy speed is not
one of our strengths. Thus five decades of gingerly journey, of this still
eluding Lokpal became a never to be forgotten remembrance.
Sometime in August 2006, eminent jurist and a former
Supreme Court Justice V.R Krishna Iyer wrote “India, a socialist, secular and
is perhaps the worlds first in its ancient heritage, second in primitive
poverty, third in contemporary crimes, twelth in total wealth. In the context
of institutions and the developmental dynamics desiderated by modern
technology, India can be a Kohinoor diamond and can be rich in resources if
creatively catalyzed. It is a frustrated fraction of mankind because of
environmental, colonial, corrupt and stultifying contradictions. Our creative
statesmen can transform the country if they wished to do. Feudalism, capitalism
and Marxism co-exist in Bharat which is plunged in widespread socialist injustice.
Perestroika and glasnost and a do-or-die struggle for systemic transformation,
are the militant urgency of the hour”.
Justices Iyer weighed every word of what he wrote
and fairly illustrated to a great extent the country’s dilemmas and ground
realities over 11 years ago. His exhortation about the militant urgency to take
on the issues plaguing the nation was a clarion call in all its seriousness.
In mid 70s, Jaya Prakash Narayan (JP), one of the tallest
men of his time, came along with his call for ‘Sampoorna Kranti’ and the nation
responded to shake the political establishment. The upheaval led to political churning
but in less than 3 years, his dream debut went sour. Country lapsed into
serious void in its governance. Corruption continued to be rampant leading to
creation of black money growing to unparalleled scale.
In cities and villages throughout India, Mafia Raj
consisting of municipal and other government officials, elected politicians,
judicial officers, real estate developers and law enforcement officials,
acquire, develop and sell land in illegal ways.
Many state-funded construction activities in India,
such as road building, are dominated by construction mafias, which are
groupings of corrupt public works officials, materials suppliers, politicians
and construction contractors.
And comes Kishan Baburao Hazare, a.k.a Anna Hazare.
An old man, with no money, no property and not much of education could attract
some of the best brains towards him by the sheer strength of his character and
integrity. He started an indefinite hunger strike in Jantar Mantar on 5th
April 2011, to pressure the government to create an ombudsman with the power to
deal with the corruption in public places.
For all the 70 years of post independent India, if
anyone carries a study of matters written in the print media, then hands down
CORRUPTION would bag the first place. It has permeated into every possible area
of give and take and has affected the large section of our population across
the board.
According to N.Vittal Former Central Vigilance
Commissioner, ‘there are five major players in the corruption scene.
They are
1) The
Neta-the corrupt politician
2) The
Babu-the corrupt bureaucrat
3) The
Laala-the corrupt business man
4) The
Jhola-the corrupt NGO.
5) The
Daada-the underworld criminal.
Now there are middlemen, masquerading as PR
Consultants, Financial Consultants, Technical Consultant etc. The kind of money
in circulation due to the sleaze is humongous. We have been hearing of
trillions of $ stashed away in Swiss Banks.
Entry of Anna Hazare and the movement, Indian
Against Corruption, did hasten the political establishment to act, as if almost
under pressure. While Anna & Company had proposed much tougher terms to
include all and sundry in the government apparatus, the union government led by
politicians and nudged by babudom tried their best to water down civil society
proposal. However, after eight unsuccessful attempts over the last five
decades, India took the historic step on 1st January 2013, The
Lokpal Bill 2013 was passed by Indian parliament by voice vote. Bill proposed
the creation of a 9 member Lokpal committee including its chairman. Selection
of these 9 persons shall be the prerogative of selection committee consisting
of Prime Minister, Speaker of Loksabha, Leader of Opposition in Loksabha Chief
Justice of India and an eminent jurist nominated by the President of India. The
Lokpal committee shall have 4 persons from higher judiciary and other 4 shall
be from public administration, finance, banking and insurance laws, so also
with vigilance and anti-corruption background. Jurisdiction of Lokpal extends
to the Prime Minister, ministers, current and former Members of Parliament,
MLAs MLCs, Government employees and employees of companies owned / funded by both
state and central governments.
Come 2014 May, comes ‘Abki Baar Modi Sarcar’.
Promising every Indians `15
Lakhs in every account by bringing back black money stashed abroad. Modi declared
‘My nahee khaoonga our tumey nahee khaane doonga’. It was music to the ears of average
Indians. And they voted him and his party, to an unprecedented victory for the
first time after 25 years. A single party has won a clear majority in the
Loksabha. Unlike the coalition government of previous 25 years, there was no
need for crutches to depend on. It was therefore possible to bring changes
where needed. But how keen is this government led by Prime Minister Modi to bring
about Lokpal to oversee the government machinery and the men running the
government?
In the thick of India Against Corruption protest led
by Team Anna, Indians were privy to the righteous indignation of BJP, when it
was in opposition.
Sushma Swaraj, then the Opposition Leader in
Loksabha and the present Minister of External Affairs, had famously observed
“Anna’s call is an appeal to our collective conscience”. Where is the
conscience gone?! Nothing seems to disturb the conscience anymore.
Its getting close to 4 years of ‘Abki Baar Modi Sarcar’.
But no mention of this ombudsman. Everybody is strangely maintaining silence.
Yes, appointment of Lokpal has been eluding Indians
despite there being a law in place. The Lokpal Act 2013, which came into effect
on 16th January 2014 to inquire into allegation of corruption
against public functionaries, has kind of, remained in limbo.
UPA which enacted the law, while in power, lost power
in May 2014. ‘Abki Baar Modi Sarcar’ came to power on the election rhetoric “Bhrashtachar
Nirmoolan”. Its been in power for more than 3 years and all know that it did
not push for the appointment of Lokpal.
Its alright to talk about eradicating corruption in
election speech but to see that concrete steps are taken to this end is a
different ball game. Political leaders as people’s representatives started to
talk about an anti-corruption ombudsman in the 1960s. It took half a century to
pass a law in 2013, that too under pressure from Anna Hazare movement, leading
to the enactment on 16th January 2014. But since then, 16th
January 2018, 4years have passed and Lokpal is nowhere around, not even
whispers.
Clearly these politicians are playing with the
feelings of aam aadmi, the ordinary citizen.
The way Narendra Modi arrived on the national scene
especially as the Prime Minister of India on 26th May 2014, most
Indians believed him to be a messiah of better India, of Acche Din, of change
for better. But the way things appear there is absolutely no seriousness either
from the Prime Minister, his party parliamentarians or from opposition parties
led by Congress, Left, Right or Centre, even to discuss the issue of Lokpal in
parliament.
Going back in time over the so-called development
model of Gujarat, which neither Narendra Modi nor his party the BJP, are tired
of quoting, there was simply no seriousness in the appointment of Lokayukta in
Gujarat. India is privy to the shenanigans of the then Gujarat Governor Kamala Benewal
and how she appointed Justice R.A. Mehta as the Lokayukta without consulting
Modi headed Gujarat Government, and how it was challenged by the Gujarat
government in Supreme Court. However despite accepting the infirmities in the
appointment by the Governor, Supreme Court accepted the appointment of
Lokayukta in Gujarat in the interest of strengthening the anti-corruption
apparatus in the state. But Justice Mehta declined to take charge. It was in
2013. And Gujarat did not have a Lokayukta since December 2003. Thus it has
been well known that Narendra Modi was never comfortable with the institution
of Lokayukta, and now with Lokpal.
Mr. Narendra Modi, as the Prime Minister, believed
himself to be incorruptible, but never allowed an anti-corruption authority to
question him. He seems to think, his actions on behalf of the government are
beyond question and therefore there is no need for an ombudsman. During the
electioneering for the last Loksabha election, Narendra Modi, as the BJP
candidate for Prime Ministership, was attacking, left- right, the Congress led
UPA government on corruption issue. And Gujarat Congress, on the other hand,
questioned Modi’s claims, saying the Chief Minister had himself failed to
appoint a Lokayukta for a decade. But strangely after his unprecedented
victory, Prime Minister Modi has conveniently forgotten to remember Lokpal and
Congress the main opposition party too has allowed it to remain in a state of
amnesia.
Yes, until end of 2013, the enactment didn’t take
place, that is 63 years after independence. Life had gone on with corruption of
every conceivable kind assaulting the body politic. Just about all political
parties have been partners in the national loot. Surely none of them want to be
accountable for the crime of having plundered the country. There is nobody, it
appears, interested in appointing the Lokayukta. This is what appears to have
been written on the wall. So after all Lokayukta may never see the light of the
day. Nothing can be more tragic than this. Indeed a case of CRY MY BELOVED
COUNTRY.
J. Shriyan
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