Activists say Lokpal will have only advisory role; curbs independence of vigilance authorities; provides for punishment of complainant if complaint is found to be ‘frivolous’

Union law minister Veerappa Moily has said that corruption will be rooted out within one year. The Lokpal Bill, the minister says, will be the weapon against corruption. But, how would this be possible when the proposed legislation is already being criticised as being full of flaws? On 30th January, activists and civil society organisations will organise rallies in New Delhi and other major cities, to demand amendments to the draft legislation.

The minister was addressing the National Conference on Judicial Reforms in Mumbai on Saturday. While the minister talked about how the new law would be used to fight corruption, the applause from the audience in response to his statement was weak. It's obvious that the government will find it hard to convince people about its intentions, following the numerous scams that have been revealed recently and the absence of effective measures to deal with them. But now activists say that the Lokpal Bill is itself a source of trouble.

"Indian citizens often complain that the anti-corruption bureaux in India are ineffective. But trust me, if the Lokpal Bill is passed, whatever little chance we have for these vigilance bodies will also disappear," said Arvind Kejriwal, renowned social activist who is campaigning for transparency in governance.

The government's Lokpal Bill lays down the foundation of a vigilance commission called the Lokpal, which is in reality, imperfect and toothless. (Read the draft of the proposed Lokpal legislation on indiaagainstcorruption.org.) According to the draft legislation, the Lokpal cannot take any suo moto action, and instead of acting as a disciplinary authority it will serve only as an advisory body. Also, the Bill does not have police powers, so the authority cannot file an FIR. It can only forward its report to the competent authority.

The common man cannot approach the Lokpal directly. They will have to address their complaints to the Speaker of the House, who will forward this to the Lokpal if he deems fit.

Moreover, the Lokpal can only deal with members of Parliament and ministers. Its authority does not extend to government officials. The commission will comprise three retired judges, who will be selected by members of Parliament and ministers, including the prime minister, all of them people whom it might have to investigate when there are complaints. Defence deals are outside its purview. However, the most astonishing part is that while the Lokpal is powerless to punish a corrupt MLA, it can impose severe punishment on the complainant if the complaint turns out to be 'frivolous'!

"The Bill, if it comes into force, will do away with whatever independence our vigilance authorities have," Mr Kejriwal said. "It completely insulates one agency from another, and the investigation has to be exclusive. Without cooperation between agencies, investigations will definitely go down under. This is the government's attempt to become as invincible as possible."

Isn't it evident that the government is being defensive? When there has been a strong demand to bring to justice the culprits who have perpetrated monumental scams, the government appears to be trying to shield them. Constituting another vigilance agency is deceptive.

Mr Kejriwal said, "We don't want any more vigilance bodies, all of them will go the same way. What we need is an independent constitutional authority that can act fearlessly and take action against those in power. Otherwise Mr Moily's tall claims will fall flat."— Shukti Sarma