I received a query on the process of appointing the members.
Details as under.
1. An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up
2. Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.
3. Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.
4. The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.
5. How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.
6. So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a month’s time. You could also report any case of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.
7. But won’t the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That won’t be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.
The present system of discussions on the Lokpal is too fixated on ways to screw the government. It needs to focus on corruption. What is being tried now will be another Hugh body of people trying to do what is already covered in our law. We need a few exemplary conviction of high placed people including corporates who screw this country. Don’t forget the hundreds of NGOs, some of whom do other work.
In my opinion the proposed Bill by Anna Hazare and co will(even if the wishes of Anna Hazare is met by the Government) create another monolithic entity which will groan and collapse under its own weight.
The sheer power that is envisaged to be given to the new structure will unsettle the system of Checks and Balances in a Democracy,shall give room for useless litigation apart from making those in the decision making process of the proposed authority dictatorial.
Best way to cleanse the system is for individuals to make up their minds not to pay bribes and elect only those with integrity.
If none are found in the election fray,do not elect any body till you get a man of Character.
One process is to have a primary ticket where people of the Constituency elect one among themselves with or with out party affiliations and vote only for him/her.