India Inc. welcomes stronger anti-graft law

"It is fortunate that in India there are enough people within and outside the government, industry and civil society, who recognise corruption as being the single largest scourge affecting the country and, therefore, a cathartic movement is taking place with spontaneous support from all sections of society," said B. Muthuraman, president-designate of the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The government's decision ended the 97-hour fast here by veteran reformer Anna Hazare -- an unparalleled people's movement against corruption in recent years.
"India is recognising the issue in time for it to be dealt with. This is in a way better than what the situation is in many developed and emerging economies, which seem to be in denial," he added.

The central government Saturday issued a gazette notification constituting a joint committee headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to draft an anti-graft Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill.

The committee will consist of five nominee ministers of the government and five nominees of Anna Hazare, including himself.

"We welcome and compliment both Anna Hazare and the government for amicably settling the issue which is impacting every citizen and growth of the country. In fact, the global investment of late has also been affected," said Dilip Modi, president of Assocham.
"Once the Lokpal Bill is in place, corruption which is spreading like cancer will be minimised," Modi added.

The drafting of the bill is expected to begin soon with public consultations and thereafter clause by clause formulation of the legislation.

"Corruption in high places is denting India's image and both parties involved in corrupt transactions should be swiftly and severely punished. An effective and empowered office of Jan Lokpal (Ombudsman) will be a significant instrument to curb corruption in the country," said a resolution passed by FICCI.

India Inc. too had come out strongly in support of Hazare's fast-unto-death.
"The amount and number of scandals which have broken out in recent times, it has made people sit up and take notice and say this is enough. We need to fix this problem, and so I see in many ways what we are seeing in this movement is a sign of the same thing," Sunil Munjal, chairman of Hero Corporate Services, had said.