Hazare’s Lok Pal formula to require a force of 35,000 to check corruption of six million people: Panelists.
The majority wanted Socrates dead. The philosopher was forced to drink hemlock and die in jail. The majority wanted Christ dead. He was crucified.
The public suspected the chastity of Sita. She was first outlawed and then forced to die. The majority of rats wanted to follow a certain piper with mischievous intent. And, they went to their own miserable watery end.
The majority in India today are under the spell of the charming old man, Anna Hazare, who has shown several times that the wicked meet mean ends if only one tried hard enough to expose them. Anna has, in fact, sent many corrupt ministers to jail.
His life has been exemplary and his charm is infinite. Urban masses angry about rampant corruption and yearning for a credible idol to fill the absence of idealism in public life, have turned into a mob of yea-sayers.
But should his views alone prevail on all things, especially law?
The new Lok Pal Bill being finalised by the government, for instance, has to come to Parliament in a matter of four or five days, according to the demands placed by the venerable Hazare. It thrills the public, including this writer, to see the mighty government respond so fast to the demands of a simple man. But, it fills many with fright to think of the consequences of a hurriedly passed law, which is set to create a super agency.
The Lok Pal that Anna is bargaining for is nothing short of a mighty human ‘Transformer’ (like in the movies). Here, the transformation would take place from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to the Lok Pal. The CBI would morph into a Lok Pal.
Although not reserved for people from the Indian Police Service (IPS), Lok Pal should even ask for a uniform to play the part. For, CBI director, no less, would take orders from the Lok Pal, if prescriptions of Hazare’s team are to be fulfiled. The Lok Pal would order postings, transfers and promotions for the investigative agency and, thus, be a super cop over the CBI director. It could be the fantasy of a cop.
All this happens if the Lok Pal Bill gets administrative control over the CBI as Anna wants. It would mean an end to CBI’s independence, many fear.
Metro man E Sreedharan, who has to his credit many successfully accomplished projects, was an avid supporter of Anna. He probably still is. But, he told this reporter last week that he did not want it to be yet another investigative agency. He also fears the Lok Pal would be too oversized to be effective. The man who is a master of management should know best.
There is another view as well that makes it look less alarming. That, the CBI does not die after all but morph into the Lok Pal. This is how former IPS officer and the CBI’s former special director, M L Sharma, looks at it. It is like the Hindu belief of rebirth. So, the Lok Pal is like the CBI reborn. But, is that good or bad? No one knows. Not even Sharma is ready to vouch for its merit.
Anna Hazare also wants the lower bureaucracy to be covered under the purview of the Lok Pal Bill. According to former Central Vigilance Commissioner N Vittal, it would make the institution collapse under its own weight.
His formula for a corruption-free institution is good governance. Strict and transparent selection procedures alone can ensure this, Vittal says, adding that a complex issue is being dumped down and the public is being fooled. Of course, Anna’s people are not interested in their views.
The standing committee that studied the Lok Pal addresses the concern of an ‘obese’ Lok Pal. It says a force of 35,000 would be required to check corruption of six millon people — starting from prime minister to peon. And, to ensure that these don’t get corrupt, the country would need a new institution — the Dharampal, the committee says.
And, a new Anna Hazare.
