Who is afraid of Lokpal ?
In fact the whole political class is unwilling to bring the Lokpal. They are all afraid of a strong Lokpal. It may seem that Congress is soft & BJP is aggressive yet it is just a matter of political convenience that BJP is putting up such a facade. Had they been in power things would have been radically different.
The whole issue of Lokpal has three aspects:
1. Why politicians are so afraid of a strong anti corruption body on whom they may not have any control?
2. What Team Anna is up to ?
3. Whether a Lokpal as envisaged by Team Anna will really be able to curb corruption?
It’s anybody’s guess as to why politicians are so afraid of a strong investigative agency.
Elections are fought over borrowed money. There are pre pole alliances with a ulterior motive. Many a businessmen see elections as an investment opportunity. They lend money to political parties in order to reap rich returns afterwards. There is also a third angle – that of the bureaucrat. The bureaucrat comes into picture once a party’s government is established. The businessman asks favors from the politician, the bureaucrat facilitates the avenues & all three of them prosper at the cost of public money. This is the type of corruption which has basically taken root in the independent India. In defense deals, in blue chip licenses, in the award of Government contracts, in the allocation of industrial or civil lands, you name it. Everywhere you will find this vicious combine at the root.
Now if there is a strong & independent agency in place, this combine may not work. The syndicated &, almost organized way of usurping public money will be threatened. There may be early arrests. There may be timely filing of charge sheets. There may really be a logical conclusion and punishments in the scams like CWG, Adarsh , 2G, Bofors, Chara Ghotala, and so many of them which were simply investigated & are being investigated even today.
This is what makes them afraid of the idea of Lokpal.
The possibility of manipulating the course of enquiry is the major way out for the politician today. As of now, the chief investigative agency is under the government & the government is dependent on the support of allies. Hence anyone who has the right connections can easily manipulate, mislead or delay the course of investigation. In fact for a very long time no progress will be possible however big the scam may be. Today, no Politician worth his salt is afraid of law. That there is no respect for law is already known, but what is really annoying is they are not even afraid. You just see the body language of some of our politicians. Audacity is the word that is written all over. They have become such an artistic dodgers that they feel it would be almost impossible to nab them whatever they do. Hence, the very idea that someone can take action against them sueo-moto … or some authority is beyond their influence is just too frightening for them.
On the other hand team Anna has definitely given rise to a very important movement in the country, but they do not seem to have a vision. Their actions so far have put them in the category of “Reactionary” at best. Theirs is a strong Anti-Government Stand. They have proposed a Lokpal who will be above every constitutional body but there are not enough checks if this Lokpal acts pre judicially. God forbid, if such a Lokpal becomes a Frankenstein later. Therefore, instead of combating with the government, team Anna would do well to take more pains about the provisions of their bill, organize public debates all over the country and make the people of this country more aware of their overall vision.
The Lokpal bill can happen through public participation only. It can never happen through politics or politicians. For 43 years or so it could not take shape because it has a direct conflict of interests with the politician. If it wouldn’t be so, long back it would have come into force.
The way to get a Strong Lokpal is to give a clear vision, hope and conviction to the people of this country that yes, it is possible to achieve a corruption free society in India.
Now, the million dollar question: Whether any such bill will be able to achieve its goal? That is, whether creation of Lokpal will really be able to eradicate the menace of corruption from the Indian society. Team Anna has made it clear that they do not expect Lokpal to be able to root out the corruption, but they definitely envisage it to ‘act as a deterrent’.
Actually corruption as a phenomenon is ubiquitous throughout the world. However, certain societies like the Europian ones (not all of them), have it to such a low level that the general public, by & large, is unaffected. People generally are sure that no one will take away their lawful due from them. On the other hand nations like Egypt, Libiya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India are high in corruption index . North Korea, Somalia Afganistan etc. are toppers. Do you see a pattern here ?
Basically corruption erupts from insecurity. Corruption evolves out of low self esteem. Corruption is a result of ‘gross inequality’ in the society. Worse if it has remained for centuries. That’s what has happened to India too. We remained under threat for a very long time. Hence, when we got the independence, we became rampant. It was freedom to choose our own course but we turned it into the ‘freedom to become as much corrupt as possible’.
Hence no amount of law can curb the corruption in India. Of course a bill & thereafter an authority like Lokpal is a welcome initiative, but the real difference will happen only if India has a visionary leader. A second Gandhi sort, who can move the millions through his shear courage of conviction. We, as a country, badly need to regain our lost glory. We produce Kalmadis & Rajas because in the heart of our hearts, we are a very insecure people. We are a rich country, mind you. We do not lack resources. But we do not have enough equality. The opportunity for living & growing is not well distributed so to say. Hence we are often tempted to choose the short cut. People choose short cuts when the faith in the straight but longer rout is lost.
We need to attack this root cause. The menace of inequality & lack of equal opportunity in the Indian society. Then the corruption will automatically be taken care. And for this purpose we need a visionary leader.
In fact the whole political class is unwilling to bring the Lokpal. They are all afraid of a strong Lokpal. It may seem that Congress is soft & BJP is aggressive yet it is just a matter of political convenience that BJP is putting up such a facade. Had they been in power things would have been radically different.
The whole issue of Lokpal has three aspects:
1. Why politicians are so afraid of a strong anti corruption body on whom they may not have any control?
2. What Team Anna is up to ?
3. Whether a Lokpal as envisaged by Team Anna will really be able to curb corruption?
It’s anybody’s guess as to why politicians are so afraid of a strong investigative agency.
Elections are fought over borrowed money. There are pre pole alliances with a ulterior motive. Many a businessmen see elections as an investment opportunity. They lend money to political parties in order to reap rich returns afterwards. There is also a third angle – that of the bureaucrat. The bureaucrat comes into picture once a party’s government is established. The businessman asks favors from the politician, the bureaucrat facilitates the avenues & all three of them prosper at the cost of public money. This is the type of corruption which has basically taken root in the independent India. In defense deals, in blue chip licenses, in the award of Government contracts, in the allocation of industrial or civil lands, you name it. Everywhere you will find this vicious combine at the root.
Now if there is a strong & independent agency in place, this combine may not work. The syndicated &, almost organized way of usurping public money will be threatened. There may be early arrests. There may be timely filing of charge sheets. There may really be a logical conclusion and punishments in the scams like CWG, Adarsh , 2G, Bofors, Chara Ghotala, and so many of them which were simply investigated & are being investigated even today.
This is what makes them afraid of the idea of Lokpal.
The possibility of manipulating the course of enquiry is the major way out for the politician today. As of now, the chief investigative agency is under the government & the government is dependent on the support of allies. Hence anyone who has the right connections can easily manipulate, mislead or delay the course of investigation. In fact for a very long time no progress will be possible however big the scam may be. Today, no Politician worth his salt is afraid of law. That there is no respect for law is already known, but what is really annoying is they are not even afraid. You just see the body language of some of our politicians. Audacity is the word that is written all over. They have become such an artistic dodgers that they feel it would be almost impossible to nab them whatever they do. Hence, the very idea that someone can take action against them sueo-moto … or some authority is beyond their influence is just too frightening for them.
On the other hand team Anna has definitely given rise to a very important movement in the country, but they do not seem to have a vision. Their actions so far have put them in the category of “Reactionary” at best. Theirs is a strong Anti-Government Stand. They have proposed a Lokpal who will be above every constitutional body but there are not enough checks if this Lokpal acts pre judicially. God forbid, if such a Lokpal becomes a Frankenstein later. Therefore, instead of combating with the government, team Anna would do well to take more pains about the provisions of their bill, organize public debates all over the country and make the people of this country more aware of their overall vision.
The Lokpal bill can happen through public participation only. It can never happen through politics or politicians. For 43 years or so it could not take shape because it has a direct conflict of interests with the politician. If it wouldn’t be so, long back it would have come into force.
The way to get a Strong Lokpal is to give a clear vision, hope and conviction to the people of this country that yes, it is possible to achieve a corruption free society in India.
Now, the million dollar question: Whether any such bill will be able to achieve its goal? That is, whether creation of Lokpal will really be able to eradicate the menace of corruption from the Indian society. Team Anna has made it clear that they do not expect Lokpal to be able to root out the corruption, but they definitely envisage it to ‘act as a deterrent’.
Actually corruption as a phenomenon is ubiquitous throughout the world. However, certain societies like the Europian ones (not all of them), have it to such a low level that the general public, by & large, is unaffected. People generally are sure that no one will take away their lawful due from them. On the other hand nations like Egypt, Libiya, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India are high in corruption index . North Korea, Somalia Afganistan etc. are toppers. Do you see a pattern here ?
Basically corruption erupts from insecurity. Corruption evolves out of low self esteem. Corruption is a result of ‘gross inequality’ in the society. Worse if it has remained for centuries. That’s what has happened to India too. We remained under threat for a very long time. Hence, when we got the independence, we became rampant. It was freedom to choose our own course but we turned it into the ‘freedom to become as much corrupt as possible’.
Hence no amount of law can curb the corruption in India. Of course a bill & thereafter an authority like Lokpal is a welcome initiative, but the real difference will happen only if India has a visionary leader. A second Gandhi sort, who can move the millions through his shear courage of conviction. We, as a country, badly need to regain our lost glory. We produce Kalmadis & Rajas because in the heart of our hearts, we are a very insecure people. We are a rich country, mind you. We do not lack resources. But we do not have enough equality. The opportunity for living & growing is not well distributed so to say. Hence we are often tempted to choose the short cut. People choose short cuts when the faith in the straight but longer rout is lost.
We need to attack this root cause. The menace of inequality & lack of equal opportunity in the Indian society. Then the corruption will automatically be taken care. And for this purpose we need a visionary leader.
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