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Sorry I was not able to join in yesterday Shantanu. i have learnt a lot from reading the above
My view is India, a very large country ,cannot engage with a new party, and new faces.. there are more than enough already. The funding and organisation requirements would not be possible. What happened to the other new parties that have emerged over the years? What is required is a committment to change the system from within, if that is what it takes.The current party members need to made accountable and need to be made to readjust their current twisted practice of politics.How can you overhaul a system that has 1.2bn people effectively, without causiong an elememnt of anarchy?
I agree there needs to be better education for the aam admi about politics and the role it plays in their lives.Every man, woman and child needs to be made to feel a sense of duty to at least being aware of the issues in the politics of the region, if not the whole country.
I strongly oppose State funding of politics, especially in India.However as someone else said, there could be for example,equal air time for all the major national parties. How would the ‘new’ parties get their message across in the Murdoch dominated media of india … and we in the Uk know what he stands for.Finance and who has control of the media are key points that need to be addressed at an early stage.
Hi Shantanu, It was a good initiative. I missed it but here is my view.
Can corruption be eliminated by Lokpal?
No, Team Anna says around 65% of corruption can be eliminated but I guess 20% to 30% corruption that happens at higher level like 2G can be eliminated; People will still experience day to day petty corruption. But if the Lokpal is multi-layered, right from the national level to state and district level, corruption may come down drastically.
Won’t the current laws against corruption suffice?
For this my answer is a counter-question – How much have the current laws achieved?
Will not an unaccountable Lokpal be a threat to democracy?
Lokpal should be accountable to the people for it not to fall foul of the constitution, but it should be independent like the Supreme Court, CAG.
Will Lokpal not affect the independence of institutions like parliament, judiciary and the PM?
A Lokpal panel cannot be monolithic. It has to be composed of various committees that work within their own areas. For example MPs who accept bribe can be investigated by a Lokpal committee consisting of MPs. But they should have the full authority and rights to make public any evidence so that standoffs like that in the PAC can be avoided. And corruption in judiciary can be investigated by a National Judicial Commission as suggested by Arun Jaitley. PM cannot claim to be immune from prosecution. He should be covered under the Lokpal.
About the selection of members for Lokpal?
The process suggested by Team Anna is not acceptable. Just because somebody has won an award given by a foreign organization he cannot be trusted to be honest. For example Nobel Peace Prize laureate Obama is taking sides in the civil war in Libya. The members of Lokpal can be from the parliament and Supreme Court and also include members who are elected by MPs.
Politically I support the BJP, but I understand they are also corrupt. Lesser than the Congress but still corrupt on a grand scale. It is in the nature of politicians to be corrupt, but nowhere else in the civilized world are bureaucrats and lower level government officers so corrupt as in India. The greatest achievement of Team Anna is that now people have begun to speak up against corruption. This has instilled fear in the minds of politicians and corrupt officials. This momentum has to be maintained.
@Sudha: Re. state funding of elections, pl have a look at this post: Here’s how to fix the system
@Shaan: Re. “Team Anna says around 65% of corruption can be eliminated”, this is a good soundbite but I am pretty sure nothing of this sort will happen unless there is a drastic overhaul of the judicial system and getting rid of unnecessary and cumbersome regulations and norms.
As for “How much have the current laws achieved?”, not much..think why? Lack of political will, an over-burdened judiciary and opaque systems (that make it almost impossible to “prove” corruption). See e.g. this: Seven tricks of highly effective corruption
Also you have not commented on the fundamental point about making systemic changes rather than quick fixes…
Hi Shantanu, I believe any systemic changes should consider the future and non-obvious implications. But thanks to Anna we are now discussing about the structure of Lokpal instead of whether we want it or not. He has succeeded in bringing it to the public agenda, now things will roll on and we may have a bill that really attempts to restrict corruption to a great extent. I seriously believe this is the right time for us to have a re-look at current laws. A classic example is the anti-defection law that is aimed at ensuring stability but prevents lawmakers from voting even on ordinary bills according to their conscience.
Here is a link to Tamil writer B.Jeyamohan’s articles on Anna Hazare’s movement – The Sabarmati. Originally they are in Tamil and I have read them. This translation is the work of volunteers who have translated them to English. Mr. Jeyamohan writes in English too, he has written some articles in the Indian Express but it looks like he is currently heavily engaged in his Tamil blog and his new occupation of writing screenplay movies.
Now that India is free of corruption, the mood seems to be shifting towards electoral reforms. Here is one key issue.. Did you know that 44% of the MLAs sworn in this year received less than half the votes in their constituencies??
http://www.wahsarkar.com/?p=729