HUBLI, 8TH April, 2011
The fast by the social activist Anna Hazare in Newdelhi and churning it has created on the politicians disdain for prevention of corruption, has lot of relevance to Karnataka, especially in the present context, where the atmosphere is reeking in corruption, going by the public allegations flying all around against the politically powerful and mighty.
One thing is clear. It is the politicians as a class, who are opposed to any measure to effectively rein in corruption in public life. They have successfully evolved ways and means to torpedo the attempts or emasculate the system which is put into operation by hook or crook to ensure a free run for themselves.
While the New Delhi , has a history of dragging its feet on the Lokpal bill in general and on the question of bringing the Prime Minister under its purview in particular, Bangalore
The common thread that is running in the attitudes of the Central and State Governments, is the marked reluctance on the political parties, be it the Congress, or the Non Congress hues including the BJP, to hold the bull by horns. The intention is very clear. They don’t want to create any fetters which come in the way of their untrammelled enjoyment of power.
In the Central Government, the main question which has been endlessly debated is that whether the Prime Minister. Should be brought under the purview of the Lokpal bill, in whatever form it may be brought in. The solution was simple. Had those who held the high august office were to voluntarily declare that they would subject themselves to the jurisdiction of Lokpal, the matter could have been resolved in jiffy suitable law could have found a place in the statute books.
But none of those who have held the office of the Prime Minister, from late Indira Gandhi to Manmohan Singh, including the likes of Vajpayee, Devegowdas, and Chandrasekhars could come out with the gesture that the persons holding high office should not only be honest but appear to be honest too like Caesars wife. For them the authority and status of the office appeared more important than the need for probity in public life. It is the cumulative mess created by the Cassandras of corruption, which has resulted in the 2 G spectrum scam, which has made the Prime Minister squirm in his seat. His image as a clean and honest politician has taken a severe beating, a big price he has paid for his vacillation.
If the prime minister of the country is unwilling to lead from the front in the fight against the corruption, how do you expect the lower minions in the political hierarchy like the Chief Ministers and the state governments down the line to act otherwise? If the President of the USA Mr Nixon could be investigated for the water gate scandal, or the high and mighty be proceeded for tax evasion in America, it does not stand to reason as to why the busy bodies in the country should be placed above the law.
In Karnataka, the story is the same with slight difference. There is a law and an institution to fight corruption since 1984. . But it has been deliberately made ineffective. The Lokayukta has not been given suomotto powers to initiate action. Such powers given when the act was enacted in 1984, were subsequently withdrawn two years later for reasons which were not clear by late Ramakrishna Hegde, who had professed commitment to the probity in public life.
Lokayukta, as an institution,was almost unknown for nearly one and half decades. The first time, it caught the public imagination was when Mr Justice Venkatachala was appointed during the S M Krishna regime in 2001, started being proactive in the discharge of his duties.
It was Justice Venkatachala who focussed attention on the lacunae in law and took up with the government for remedying the same through a suitable amendment to the law. His five year term ended without his dream of the grant of suomotto powers being realised. Mr Justice Santosh Hegde, who succeeded him, pursued the pending issue with the government. His five year tenure is coming to an end in couple of months and like his predecessor he has to retire with a feeling that the government ignored his plea.
None of the governments have held office during the period of the present and previous Lokayukta have been able to restore the suomotto powers to the Lokayukta, which is a felt need. And these includes, the Congress government led by Mr Krishna, Congress-JDS coalition headed by Mr Dharam Singh of Congress, the BJP-JDS coalition headed by Mr Kumaraswamy of the JFS and the present BJP government headed by Mr Yeddyurappa, which has been in office from 2008. The message is quite clear none of them was keen on doing it despite their public protestation of their commitment to fight corruption
The Upa Lokayukta has the suomotto powers, which can be exercised over the lower echelons of the administration. The other higher-ups do not come under its purview. But more often than not, the post is kept vacant. When Mr Venkatachala, started exercising the powers of the Upa Lokayukta in his crusade against corruption, the government woke up after a long gap to and felt the need to fill the vacancy. This was done more with the intention of reining in Justice Venkatachala than to strengthen the functioning. But much to the chagrin of those who had planned the move, the new Upa Lokayukta Mr Justice Patri Basangowda proved to be a good foil rather than hindrance to Mr Justice Venkatachala. After Mr Patri Basangowda retired the post in 2009, the post has remained vacant.
Absence of the suomotto powers has not been the only problem faced by the Lokayuktas in Karnataka, who have taken their job seriously. The unhelpful attitude of the government at both political and administrative levels, which has been blunting the efficacy of the institution and efforts put by the Lokayukta to trap cases possession of assets disproportionate to the known source of income
In some cases, the officers trapped remain without being suspended and some of them have been quite powerful enough to wangle promotions and get good posting too. The government deliberately delays the question of granting permission for the Lokayukta to prosecute the officers, who have been nabbed. And the list of the governments acts of sins of omission and commission is quite lengthy.
A major development, which has occurred during the BJP government stressing the imperative necessity of strengthening the Lokayukta, has been the surge of the scams of sorts, which have surfaced. The most important one has been the one pertaining to the illegal mining of iron ore, involving powerful politicians, in office and out of office. The report given by the Lokayukta which probed into the matter has been gathering dust. It has been relied upon by the Supreme Court but has not opened the eyes of the state government. The inference is quite clear. But for the e Supreme Courts persistence in a case before it at present, the controversy over the illegal mining in Karnataka would have been pushed under the rug.
The second one has scam over the denotification of the land, which during the recent years has been openly regarded as virtual money spinner for the politicians in power. Going by the open charges being hurled it looks as if this has taken place one way or the either during the regime of almost all the Chief Ministers especially in the last one and half decades. A powerful minister of the BJP government has also been caught in the act. And the Chief Minister Mr Yeddyurappa and his bete noire Mr Kumaraswamy have been openly trading charges against each other.
Had a person like Mr Anna Hazare been here, perhaps Karnataka would have witnessed the kind of uproar that one is witnessing in Jantar Mantar Newdelhi.
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