Kejriwal bats for Lokpal Bill to protect whistleblowers

Activist Arvind Kejriwal, a key member of Anna Hazare's India Against Corruption on Sunday claimed that out of the 25 whistleblowers some could have been saved, had the Lokpal Bill been in place. 

Hazare is on a one-day token fast at Jantar Mantar demanding justice for the whistleblowers who exposed the face of corruption in the absence of any law ensuring their security.

“More than half of the slain victims could have been saved with the help of the provision of whistleblower protection in the bill. More than 25 people, fighting against corruption, were murdered in last ten years,” said Kejriwal.

With regards to these deaths, Kejriwal stressed on having a dialogue in the Parliament. “When Sharad Pawar was slapped, there was a two-hour-long debate in the Parliament. However, there was not even a mention of the recent death of an IPS officer Narendra Kumar who was killed in Madhya Pradesh, allegedly by mining mafia,” he said.

‘Netas involved in murders’

Launching a scathing attack on the political parties, he alleged that there are ministers involved in cases of murder and other serious crimes. 

He named 14 ministers, including ministers Sharad Pawar, S M Krishna, Praful Patel, Kapil Sibal, Kamal Nath, Farooq Abdullah, Ajit Singh, Sri Prakash Jaiswal, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Vilasrao Deshmukh, M K Azhagiri and G K Vasan and said they would be investigated if the Lokpal Bill comes into effect.

“Chidambaram should be probed for his role in the 2G spectrum case. A Kolkata-based businessman Kashinath Tapuriah, whose over 500 crore scam was unearthed, was let off after paying fine as Chidambaram's wife was fighting his case and he was the Finance Minister then,” said Kejriwal.  

Making a case of the neck deep corruption inside the political arena, Kejriwal said, “Which politician and party is clean?” He added that 162 MPs have criminal cases.