The edit “Good versus perfect” (August 12) was unduly charitable to the government and uncharitable to Anna Hazare. Anna Hazare, or anyone else for that matter, never said the Lok Pal Bill could wipe out corruption from the Indian body politic. No law or institution can wipe out crime, but stringent laws and empowered institutions act as a deterrent and that is why they are needed. India is committed to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption that endorses a common law for all public servants including political leaders, bureaucrats and judges. But the government’s Lok Pal Bill keeps out of its ambit the prime minister, the judiciary and MPs for their actions inside the House. It seems the government’s early negotiations with Anna Hazare, the setting up of a joint drafting committee and all the subsequent meetings were just attempts to water down the tremendous public support for Anna’s campaign.
M C Joshi, Lucknow
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