I organised to have it put up before Mrs Gandhi! Cheers!
On 9/29/10, Chan Mahanta <[email protected]> wrote: > > Desi-demokrasy in Action or is it Udok Bheta-rokhiya Pota Sorkar ? > > cm > > > > > From Outlook India: > > > http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267215 > > > > > Dear Mrs Gandhi, > > Dr Manmohan Singh is believed to be one of the most honest prime ministers > our country has had. But, ironically, he presides over arguably the most > dishonest government machinery we have seen. The latest in the series of > scams is the massive corruption in the Commonwealth Games. Despite charges > of large-scale fund misuse and inefficient management, Suresh Kalmadi, > almost defiantly, says he won’t step down till the PM or Sonia Gandhi asks > him to do so. He seems to be confident that neither of you would ask him to > step down! > > The scale and arrogance of corruption in the Commonwealth Games is so > bizarre that if it goes unpunished this time also, then there is no hope for > this country. Both Dr Singh and you have said on several occasions that > those involved in corruption in CWG will not be spared after the games. But > which agency will investigate these cases? > > The CBI? This is directly under the control of the central government. It > runs almost like its department. It has been misused for political purposes > almost by all successive governments and parties. With allegations against > people and politicians in high places in the Commonwealth Games, it is > highly unlikely that the CBI would be allowed to do an unbiased and honest > investigation. > > Then we have the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), a toothless body. It > has neither the resources nor the powers to investigate and prosecute. > Despite this, it recently did a brilliant inquiry into some of the CWG > projects. It found several irregularities. However, the CVC does not have > the powers to take any action against the guilty. It can only make > recommendations. It has already done that and no action has been taken > against those identified. Because the people against whom action is proposed > to be taken are either those who themselves have to decide whether to take > action or not, or can influence decision-making. Further, the CVC does not > have any jurisdiction over politicians. So, the CVC’s inquiries into CWG > projects do not extend to the role of politicians. > > To make matters worse, what can one expect from the new CVC, who himself > boasts of a tainted past? One wonders whether he has been posted to > effectively act against corruption or to scuttle the inquiries into the > Commonwealth Games and the telecom corruption charges, and save the > government a political embarrassment. > > Besides the CBI and CVC, we have no other anti-corruption body at the > Centre. So, who will investigate corruption in Commonwealth Games projects? > The promises of effective action by you and Dr Singh simply do not inspire > confidence. > > The whistle-blower protection bill recently introduced in Parliament > proposes to entrust the responsibility of investigating complaints of > corruption from whistle-blowers and providing protection to them to the CVC. > Obviously, whistle-blower protection is required in those cases where > high-and-mighty politicians and bureaucrats are involved. Interestingly, the > CVC does not have jurisdiction over politicians. And it merely forwards > complaints against bureaucrats to the respective department heads to > investigate and report back. So, if the head of the department himself is > involved, what happens then? Such serious flaws render the proposed > whistle-blower protection bill a showpiece legislation. > > These critical deficiencies in our anti-corruption systems were discussed in > a meeting on August 10 by none other than Karnataka Lokayukta Justice > Santosh Hegde, former CVC P. Shankar, former chief election commissioner > J.M. Lyngdoh, senior Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan and others. > Outgoing CVC Pratyush Sinha was present as an observer. Minutes of this > meeting have already been sent to you earlier. According to this group, > these critical deficiencies have rendered our entire anti-corruption systems > ineffective. > > Those who participated in the meeting made a series of excellent > recommendations: Create a Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in states to > deal with corruption. They should have jurisdiction over both bureaucrats > and politicians. They should have resources and complete powers to entertain > complaints, investigate them and prosecute the guilty. These organisations > should not need approvals or permissions from anyone to initiate > investigations and prosecutions. At the same time, they should themselves be > transparent and accountable in their functioning. Their appointment should > be through a transparent and participatory process. > > When corruption reached its peak in Hong Kong in the ’70s, it created an > Independent Commission Against Corruption and gave it complete powers. The > commission sacked 103 out of 107 police officers in one go. That sent a > strong signal to the entire machinery. Such swift and effective action is > needed in our country also, immediately. > > You created history by renouncing the chair of the prime minister. We urge > you to create effective systems in our country to rid this country of > corruption. > > Yours sincerely, Arvind Kejriwal > > Arvind Kejriwal is a Magasaysay award winner who works on issues of > transparency and the right to information. > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > [email protected] > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > -- Sent from my mobile device C 166 LGF Sarvodaya Enclave New Delhi 110017 09910972654 _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
