It has been quite some time since my first post and I apologize for the delay in preparing my next post. With so many events occurring and so many “popular opinions” being stated it takes time to grasp the situation and comment sensitively and sensibly on it.
“I believe that the real question before us as representatives of the people of India today is whether we are prepared to take the battle against corruption head on? It is not a matter of how the present impasse will resolve, it is a much greater battle. There are no simple solutions. To eradicate corruption demands a far deeper engagement and sustained commitment from each one of us.”
Almost every Indian today has been made to believe by the Anna Hazzare Movement that the passing of one Jan Lokpal bill is going to cure India of the corruption virus. Yet again we have the news media declare a war between groups and then decide its winner as well. On the fateful Saturday evening when Mr. Anna Hazzare decided to end his fast, “joy erupts amongst the common man of India” as “India wins battle against corruption”. The people have been made to falsely believe that the Jan Lokpal bill will be the single point solution to corruption. Here I would like to present you with a realistic case, almost a classic for all Mumbaikars. Switching lanes suddenly or breaking the traffic light leads to interaction with the traffic police. There is a choice to make here. Either pay the fine and get your license taken and go to the RTO office the next day to collect your license OR pay a bribe. And in this case I will not blame anyone giving a bribe as the system has an established process which is unnecessarily exhausting. So is having a Lokpal going to cure corruption? If I myself prefer giving the bribe to the established process by the system then how is a Lokpal monitoring the bureaucrats and government employees, going to heal the system? The system stays, my thought process stays, my want to give a bribe stays, the want to consume that bribe stays, corruption stays. The system needs to simplified and strengthened with mechanisms to cure corruption rather than curing corruption to strengthen the system.
But how to strengthen the system? There is no single formula really. There are processes which need to be refined and simplified so that the people do not adopt corrupt means. For example, after the success of the project in Thane distirct, the Setu project has been adopted by the Maharashtra government. Through this project, the basic certificates (such as the birth certificate) required by a citizen for any official purpose are issued almost instantaneously at organized camps for this purpose and with no requirement for a bribe. Hence these camps reduce the scope of corruption faced by the common man as he no longer needs to spend thousands of rupees to merely issue a birth certificate. Hence,
“An effective Lokpal law is the only one element in the legal framework to combat corruption. The Lokpal institution alone cannot be a substitute for a comprehensive anti-corruption code. Laws that address the following critical issues are necessary to stand alongside the Lokpal initiative
1. Government funding of elections and political parties
2. Transparency in public procurement
3. Proper regulation of sectors that fuel corruption like land and mining
4. Grievance redress mechanisms in public service delivery of old age pensions and ration cards.
5. Continued tax reforms to evade tax evasions.”
The above five points encompasses almost every sector of corruption we see in India today. The crores of “party fund” spent during elections; transparency in public procurement so as to avoid another 2G; regulation of sectors where corruption is rampant to avoid another Yedyurappa scenario; mechanisms to ease, simplify and shorten the process to procure old age pensions, ration cards, to avoid the common man from paying bribes; and lastly tax reforms to evade tax evasion so as to curb private sector corruption. Can one Lokpal take care of these? Certainly not. The Lokpal can supposedly ensure curbing corruption within the government but is it stopping private individuals from evading taxes which is also a form of corruption? Think about the traffic police case. Would I rather pay the bribe or go through the entire process of procuring my license back?
“Why not elevate the Lokpal by making it a constitutional body accountable to the parliament like the election commission of India?”
The three pillars of the constitution for the proper governance in India are the administration, the legislature and the judiciary. Now within the constitution there are provisions to ensure that these three pillars are accountable to one another. The administration is accountable to the legislature and judiciary through various processes such as RTI. The legislature is accountable to the judiciary as a bill can be called for judicial review by the Supreme Court. The judiciary is accountable to the legislature as it is the legislature that appoints and impeaches the judges of the court of law. Who is the Lokpal accountable to? Are we naïve enough to believe that a body having unchecked power over those who are supposed to be in power is not going to get corrupt? I maybe too pro-constitutional so pardon me, but why should any institution made to check corruption and “cure our democracy” be above the constitution that lays the very foundation of this democracy? When no Member of Parliament, no Prime Minister, no IAS officer and no Supreme Court judge is above the constitution then why should the Lokpal be given this special status. If Lokpal is the answer to corruption it at least must be answerable to somebody! Giving it unchecked powers certainly undermines our constitution which has laid the foundation of our democracy.
“India’s biggest achievement is our democratic system. It is the life force of our nation”
The entire Anna Hazzare movement has laid the precedent of undemocratic processes and tested the tolerance of our government. For the first time in the history of an independent India, bypassing all the rules of procedure for conduction the house, the Honorable Speaker, used her discretionary powers to get the house to discuss the Jan Lokpal and more importantly the Anna Hazzare movement. What was the outcome? Victory against corruption or a three point resolution stating the assurance that the parliament will positively think about the three points laid down by Anna Hazzareji, Wait! Both the outcomes do not sound the same to me. There is no guideline as to how this thinking would happen. There is no time stipulation for anything. This is meaningless. Ofcourse, if you do not follow the rules of procedure, if you wish to bypass the standing committee to get a bill to the table, if you wish to bypass the entire democratic process laid down by the constitution then well, the outcome is not going to be very positive as it has been achieved through undemocratic means in a country which takes pride in being the largest functioning democracy in the world.
(The content presented within quotes in italics is from Mr. Rahul Gandhi’s speech in the Lok Sabha on 26th August 2011. The entire speech is easily available on the web. I am not supporting anybody here, but yes I do support some ideas. )
