JOIN USLokpal Bill alone cannot fight corruption: Expert
Speaking at a discussion on Jan Lokpal Bill, Dr Balasubramaniam said the bill may not see the light of the day even during the upcoming session of Parliament. “The bill has reached the Parliament about eight times so far and even the latest version is far from desirable, as it does not have much teeth,” he added.
Critical, yet careful enough not to border over cynicism, Dr Balasubramaniam said out of 534 members of parliament, there are criminal cases against 154 of them. “How can we trust them to run the country?” he questioned.
Elaborating on the measures that are important to make the Lokpal bill successful, he said though Lokayukta is vested powers to initiate suo motu action, not even a single case has been convicted so far. This, despite the fact that Lokayukta in Karnataka is quite powerful when compared to other states in the country.
Change
“Realities should change at grassroots level. Unless that happens, we cannot expect much to change,” he said. Referring to the corruption in private sector too, Dr Balasubramanyam said the menace is rampant in private sector. “Up to 60 per cent of this sector is corrupt as against the public sector, and we are not able to bring them under the ambit of law,” he said.
Stating that ‘honesty’ needs to be incentivised, Balasubramanyam said it is time electoral reforms are tackled and people insist on good governance than just resting their hopes on one bill.
“One of the crucial bills that can make a huge difference is judicial accountability bill, which will provide a different dimension to democracy,” he observed.
Maj Gen (Retd) S G Vombatkere, former president Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP), Sreemati Hariprasad, President of MGP, Institution of Engineers, Mysore chapter Chairman A S Satish, Prof M Umapathy, and others were present .