The Lokpal Bill, Anna & Irom Sharmila

Ramananda Nongmeikapam *

Two crusaders : Anna Hazare and Irom Sharmila - Pix :: Sangai Express

"Lokpal Bill" - the burning issue of today poses many questions. Why is the government denying to pass the Lokpal Bill drafted by the Civil Societies represented by Team Anna? What are the features of Lokpal Bill and Jan Lokpal Bill? Is Anna's protest acceptable? What should the citizens of the country do now?

The history of Lokpal Bill can be traced back to the 60s when the Santhanam Committee for Prevention of Corruption was set up according to which a Lokpal at the centre would be set up and in the same line Lokayukta in the state as a measure to curb corruption. The Bill was first introduced in the Parliament in 1969 but it was not passed. The bill was again introduced a number of times in the parliament but it failed to get passed. Now it has been more than 40 years since its inception in the parliament left unpassed.

Agreeing the demands of Anna a couple of months back, the Government set up a committee comprising of 10 members - 5 from the Government comprising of Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, Shalman Khursheed and Veerappa Moily and 5 from the Civil Societies comprising of Anna Hazare, Shanti Bhushan (Former Law Minister), Prashant Bhushan (Eminent Lawyer), Santosh Hegde (Retired Supreme Court Judge) and Arvind Kejriwal (RTI Activist). But to Anna's surprise, the Bill framed by the Government was introduced in the parliament ignoring the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by team Anna. And this is the vantage point.

There are few things one must know about the Lokpal Bill and Jan Lokpal Bill. There are few reasons why Team Anna is against the Lokpal Bill drafted by Government.

First and foremost, according to the Government version of Lokpal Bill, Lokpal will not have any power to either initiate action suo motu in any case or even receive complaints of corruption from public. This is making the Lokpal bill useless. But according to the Jan Lokpal Bill, Lokpal has full power to initiate investigations suo motu in any case and also to directly entertain complaints from the public.

Second, Lokpal will not have power to investigate any case against the Prime Minister, but the according to Jan Lokpal Bill, the Lokpal will be empowered to investigate against the Prime Minister.

Third, the current version of Lokpal exempts some NGOs whose annual incomes are less than a minimum prescribed limit by the Government. This may protect some NGOs who are involved in corruption.

Fourth, the investigating officer need not be a police; earlier it was agreed that the investigating officer should not be below the rank of a DSP.

Fifth, the eligibility criteria of Lokpal where it has been amended as any serving judge of Supreme Court or Chief Justice of a High Court would be eligible for Lokpal; earlier, only eminent persons having wide experience in law, academics, and public affairs are considered eligible. According to Jan Lokpal Bill, the Lokpal will be appointed by a team of judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians.

Sixth, the Sarkari Lokpal has been divested of contempt power. Lokpal cannot take action against a public servant who does not cooperate the investigation of Lokpal. This will affect the investigation process.

Seventh, the number of members of Lokpal has been reduced to 9 from 11 which is a sign of Government's modest conception of Lokpal.

Further more, as per Jan Lokpal Bill, investigation in any case will not take much time, it should be completed within a year and trial should be completed the next year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge will be sent to jail in two years. Again, the loss that the corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction. Further, one can approach the Lokpal if his/her work is not done in prescribed time in Government office.

For instance, if the concerned government office delays in issuing a person's ration card or passport or voter card or if police is not registering a case, then he/ she can approach the Lokpal. Lokpal will impose penalty on guilty officers which will be given as compensation to the complainant and Lokpal will get the work done in a month's time. Also, the existing anti corruption agencies of government like CVC, and anti corruption branch of CBI will be merged with Lokpal.

There are few who argue that institution of a strong Lokpal at the Centre and keeping PM under its purview would mean running parallel Government. This is a wrong notion. We have autonomous bodies like the CAG, Judiciary, Election Commission of India which have been set up to constitute as checks and balances on the political executives so that public funds are not misappropriated. Any law passed by the Parliament is subject to judicial review which means if the law is in violation of the constitution the Judiciary can declare the law unconstitutional. It is also argued that institution of Lokpal would hamper stabilization of Government and hence government will not be able to function smoothly.

Whether or not the PM should be kept under the purview of Lokpal? This is the bone of contention. Under Article 361, immunity from criminal proceedings is conferred to the President and the Governor only. The Constitution clearly denies immunity to the Prime Minister. It is interesting to note that CBI, the premier anti corruption investigative agency, is under the Department of Personnel and Training which is controlled by Prime Minister's Office (PMO). It implies that CBI is controlled by political executives to a considerable extent. CBI and Prevention of Corruption Act have not been much effective against the Ministers and high level bureaucrats. Here lies the need to bring CBI's anti corruption wing under Lokpal and not under Prime Minister. This is one of the features of Jan Lokpal Bill as mentioned above.

Instituting a very strong Lokpal at the Centre is in fact essential. Having said this, one may also question, will a strong Lokpal be able to root out corruption? Corruption is something that has been prevailing since many years in some way or the other. It's very important to find out the root cause of corruption. Bribe takers exist because there are bribe givers. Why do people bribe then?

When it comes to "Fasting", who in Manipur will forget our Iron Lady "Sharmila"? She, who has been fasting for more than a decade, has not been recognised much by the Government and people of mainland India. But he who has been protesting & fasting for a couple of days has been recognized and idolized by the people of mainland India. My question to all the fellow Indians, if fasting is the only way to get a demand, why not Sharmila's demands be met who has been fasting for a decade. It's ok if you (to the people and the Government) don't recognize her, but at least recognize her concerns.

One more question, why is Kiran Bedi so active these days? She, being the first woman IPS officer of the country, had served as Head of various police departments for many years. Was not her Police department corrupted during her time? Why didn't she act during her tenure while she was given ample authority? Shanti Bhushan, who was also the Former Law Minister, might have had sufficient authority in hand. Why didn't he, being a part of internal system of Government, act during his tenure as Law Minister?

Why didn't they try to change the system knowing the system was flawed? Why are they so proactive after coming out of the government?

We are the ones who elect our representatives as our caretakers. Why didn't Anna act at the time of election to vote for the most qualified and honest candidates? Had we elected the most qualified and credible candidates during election, why would this happen? Team Anna might have organized campaigns to make the voters aware and awake.

One cannot force the Government, "You should pass my bill". If 120 crore people bring their own bills and asked Government to pass their own bills, then what is the significance of instituting a government? If the founding fathers of the Constitution foresaw such scenarios, they would have opted for Direct Democracy? But how will this run in a country having huge population? The citizens must also show respect for the government and basic principles of the Constitution.

"Gandhi"- is, no doubt, synonymous to "Truth" & "Non violence". Why did Anna, being Gandhian, burn the Government Bill having "Ashoka Chakra" embossed on it? Is not this amounted to contempt of Parliament? Is this an act of a true Gandhian? There might be many among the protestors who actually do not understand exactly what the bill is all about. They are simply blind. And just because Anna is acting against the Government, people do support on account of the very natural attitude of the people of the country- "Anti government ".

At this juncture, why is the Opposition blaming the UPA? When will this blame game stop? If they are true politicians who really have concerns for their people, why don't they act together with the Ruling party in its effort to solve urgent national issues and to make the government an effective machinery where people have faith in it?

Parliament is where all bills are discussed and passed. The Government version of Lokpal which is already introduced in the parliament may be discussed and amended and Team Anna is welcomed for this. I think Team Anna should respect the very provision of the Constitution too. Yes, I agree Anna Hazare is a great personality who has the famous RTI Act to his credit and a Padma Bhusan awardee for his service to the nation as a social activist. Initiating such a strong revolt against corruption is not an easy task. We must also appreciate his move too.

If Lokpal starts functioning successfully, the Civil Society version of Lokpal will be much more effective than the Government version of Lokpal. Therefore, Jan Lokpal Bill, being citizen centric, should be passed so that public grievances will be addressed efficiently. One should bear in mind that Jan Lokpal Bill is not only against corruption but it will also serve the purpose of quick delivery of services to the people.

Finally, the citizens of the country should have introspection on the Bill from various perspectives, the way how Government is responding, the way how the protest is going on, whether or not any of the activities of the protestors or the Government is violating the basic principles of the Constitution. The intention of this article is not to criticize Anna or the Government rather it's a question to the fellow citizens of the country and the media in particular. When all the citizens of the country have respect for the Constitution, a strong nation can be built. If fasting is the only solution, Sharmila too deserves an answer.