A few weeks ago while responding to questions on the 2 G spectrum scam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the right policy was in place, but the problem was in the implementation. Perhaps unintended but he hit the nail right on the head.
The fast by Ana Hazare has caught the people's imagination and the Jan Lokpal Bill is being held up as the magic cure for the corruption which prevails in our society. Unfortunately the problem is not that there is a shortage of laws, the problem is in the implementation or enforcement.
As I mentioned in one of my earliest blogs, we follow the laws when we go abroad, but do not do so when are in India because we know we can get away with it. A simple example is paying a traffic ticket. Rather than paying the full penalty we offer one quarter or half the amount to the concerned constable and drive off. We are all guilty of that. I doubt if there are too many of us who can put our hands on the hearts and say I did. Sometime the rules are skewed such that you tend to take the easy way out. Its not a question of the amount of the ticket involved. In most countries you can just mail in a check for the ticket. Here at least in Delhi, you are required to appear before a court. Do you want to waste a day finding the right court and then pleading guilty to pay the fine ? You pay the constable. We all have our reasons for doing so.
Similarly even if the Lokpal Bill is passed ,we still rely on the the government investigators or prosecutors to bring the guilty party justice. The official track record in persecuting politicians and bureaucrats does not necessarily inspire a great deal of confidence. Cases drag on for years and files mysteriously disappear. The witnesses pass away, some of old age, others due to health reason and some choose to end their lives.
Narayana Murthy the former Chairman of Infosys suggested in the newspaper of April 9th, that the Central Ivestigation Bureau and Central Vigilance Commission should also report to Lokpal and not to the government.Also that it should not just be restricted to just going after the politicians, but should also include the bureaucrats. This is the only way to make this effective.
Hopefully the Lokpal Bill addresses this issue, otherwise all this effort will have been in vain.
The fast by Ana Hazare has caught the people's imagination and the Jan Lokpal Bill is being held up as the magic cure for the corruption which prevails in our society. Unfortunately the problem is not that there is a shortage of laws, the problem is in the implementation or enforcement.
As I mentioned in one of my earliest blogs, we follow the laws when we go abroad, but do not do so when are in India because we know we can get away with it. A simple example is paying a traffic ticket. Rather than paying the full penalty we offer one quarter or half the amount to the concerned constable and drive off. We are all guilty of that. I doubt if there are too many of us who can put our hands on the hearts and say I did. Sometime the rules are skewed such that you tend to take the easy way out. Its not a question of the amount of the ticket involved. In most countries you can just mail in a check for the ticket. Here at least in Delhi, you are required to appear before a court. Do you want to waste a day finding the right court and then pleading guilty to pay the fine ? You pay the constable. We all have our reasons for doing so.
Similarly even if the Lokpal Bill is passed ,we still rely on the the government investigators or prosecutors to bring the guilty party justice. The official track record in persecuting politicians and bureaucrats does not necessarily inspire a great deal of confidence. Cases drag on for years and files mysteriously disappear. The witnesses pass away, some of old age, others due to health reason and some choose to end their lives.
Narayana Murthy the former Chairman of Infosys suggested in the newspaper of April 9th, that the Central Ivestigation Bureau and Central Vigilance Commission should also report to Lokpal and not to the government.Also that it should not just be restricted to just going after the politicians, but should also include the bureaucrats. This is the only way to make this effective.
Hopefully the Lokpal Bill addresses this issue, otherwise all this effort will have been in vain.
good blog avi
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