No other govt has shown more will to fight corruption

Digvijaya Singh's Blog | 2011 Sep 2

Corruption is eating into our vitals. There is no doubt about it. Issue is can only a strong Lok Pal be able to remove/reduce corruption? No.

In a federal country as ours, a common man in about 95 % of the cases  has to deal with corruption by the state govefnment officials. Most of the states have Lok Ayukts except Gujarat, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh. Has Anna ever raised this issue with these state governments?

It has to be a comprehensive strategy to contain corruption and to  punish the corrupt. We have to have a decentralized governance, transparency in governance laws and rules which don't give discretionary powers to the establishment , universal declaration of assets of politicians bureaucrats judges and media. The four pillars of democracy.

I have never understood why only politicians are made to publicly declare their assets? Why not bureaucracy, judiciary, media and the now the new Czars of modern India - the advocates?

I agree with Rahul Gandhi when he asks for setting up of a Constitutional Body to fight corruption. We have to bring in reforms in taxation, judiciary, business rules for bureaucracy, governance (empowerment of elected representatives of rural and urban local bodies) and electoral reforms.

Let us see if the present UPA Government has made any serious attempt  to fight corruption. Right to Information drafted by NAC headed Sonia Gandhi has exposed  most of the scams which have come to the public eye. Stringentamendment to the Money laundering Act by UPA Government is responsible for Madhu Koda and some of his Ministers still in jail. Because of the amendment it is possible to confiscate even a benami property. Senior  ministers, MPs bureaucrats, senior officials of powerful corporates are in jail.

Sonia Gandhi had asked Aruna Roy and Harsh Mandar of NAC to draft a  strong Lok Pal Bill. The Bill put forward by Aruna Roy is the draft  prepared by NAC . But then Arvind Kejriwal Bhushans and others appropriated the issue which in any case would have been in the Parliament in this monsoon session of Parliament.

Has any other Government in the last two decades shown more political  will to fight corruption ?

We have become a very popular punching bag for all and sundry. No doubt  to survive politicians need to have a thick skin but it hurts when we  find even "kettle calling the pot black.

Anna's agitation is a signal to all politicians and all political  parties. Reform or Democracy is in danger . In age of transparency and 24 by 7 media coverage politicians are in a permanent state of publicgaze. We have to behave inside the Parliament, assemblies and outside or perish.

Time has now come for all politicians to put their heads together to  draft a strong viable Lok Pal bill and also bring in Electoral  Reform. By doing this only we would be able to regain the confidence which we have been losing over the years.