Why Lokpal will be ineffective?

2011 is certainly will go in the annals as one of the most important in the Indian history. So much happened that it evoked extreme emotions among Indians. This year saw the unearthing of India’s biggest scam famously called as 2G scam or spectrum scam. The magnitude of the scam is so high that it really shook up the people of India. On constant pressure from the opposition and from the media, Andimuthu Raja was finally arrested and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail. If this was not enough, the other scam which came in to the light brought one of the biggest shame for India, the commonwealth games scam. Again, when the government was reluctant to take any action, constant pressure from the opposition and the media led to the arrest of the games committee chairman, Suresh Kalmadi. He is also currently lodged in Tihar Jail.

Not for long public can be tolerant and this was evident with the sudden hunger strike from the social activist Anna Hazare against corruption and to bring the Lokpal Bill. The huge followers supporting the movement shook the government to draft the bill which is still in indecisive stage.

What is Lokpal Bill?

This intention of this bill is to create an independent body which handles the corruption cases against whomever a compliant has been registered. The verdict should be delivered in 1 year and the convict ll be given immediate punishment. The bill also wants to bring Prime Minister and all the sitting MP’s in the ambit of the bill so that we have a clean and efficient ministers at the center.

I really appreciate the efforts of Mr. Hazare and fellow citizens who are fighting for the lokpal bill. Corruption in India is so high that it affects the economy and also the spirit of the nation. If this trend continues, foreign investors will fear investing in one of the fastest growing economies resulting in the slowdown of the economic growth. There is urgent need of strong Act like the lokpal which should act as a deterrent against corruption. However I am skeptical about effectiveness of the bill.

Why Lokpal will not work?

1. The Bills and Acts will only be helpful in punishing the convict and cannot prevent the crime.

2. People who are considered to safeguard the law of the nation, themselves are not sincere enough in their work.

3. With rising inflation, people find it difficult to manage their livelihood, corruption tend to happen. On top of it, when there is no performance based appraisal and a job security for life time, people ll never take their work seriously.

4. Red Tapism is so high in the country that a person ll be willing to bribe the official to move the papers quickly to another department rather than wait for the officer to act on it. Life is moving fast and the public simply doesn’t have time to wait.

5. Lack of transparency in the government.

6. The public doesn’t trust the politicians and the judiciary. Rowdism and fear for life stops bright and young people from entering politics. This makes it easier for the least qualified person to join the politics.

7. The greed for money is certainly the biggest cause for the rampant corruption among Indians. People are not satisfied with what they have and the want for more takes them in the wrong path.

8. Financial imbalance among the people. 80-20 rule perfectly suits the Indian Economy where 80% of the wealth is in the hands of 20% of the people.

9. People simply don’t have time to fight corruption unless led by a leader and they simply will not complaint against them fearing dire consequences.

10. Lack of accountability among people and officials.

This just reminds me one of the funny dialogues in a tamil movie, “building strong, aana basement weak”. If the government can do its homework and get the basics right, I am sure corruption will fade away automatically. Till then we can only fight corruption and certainly cannot get rid of it.