Lokpal Bill must echo people’s views: Justice Santosh Hegde

Those claiming to be people’s representatives need to be told that their views do not often reflect people’s views, said Justice N Santosh N Hegde.

He was speaking during the announcement of the results of a referendum on Lokpal Bill conducted by Corruption Saaku, which anchors the India Against Corruption campaign, on Friday.

Asked whether he would attend the agitation being staged by volunteers of the India Against Corruption on August 16, he said, “I’m not in town on August16 but if it does continue into the next day, I will take part.”

Supporting Anna Hazare’s campaign, Hegde said he would be part of the agitation by the people if the Bill by the people did not come through.

On whether the anti-corruption wing of the CBI should be transferred to the Lokpal committee, he said it takes decades to form an institution and wondered how the agency would work without experience.

He said in the government bill, a provision had been made to discourage people from filing complaints against public servants by allowing officials to file counter-complaints and get legal assistance which would be borne by the government.

“Such a proposal is just giving the accused encouragement to go further,” he said.

Corruption Saaku’s referendum was conducted among 30,000 voters in South Bangalore and 20,000 voters in Chikkaballapur parliamentary constituencies. Responses are still coming in. Most questions related to how much people-centric the bill should be. An SMS poll and an online poll were also conducted.

“In the last few months, there have been some representatives asking how five people can decide what the general public want. Now my question to them is when thousands in Chikkaballapur want a strong bill, can one person decide it should not be that way?” asked Ashwin Mahesh, CEO of Mapunity.

“Although Anna Hazare’s movement had received an overwhelming response, only the public and media were willing to debate it. The representatives have never come out in public and explained themselves or recognised what the people want,” he said.

If what the people want is not included in the Lokpal Bill, a public campaign and agitation will be launched, he said.

“The law we want should be shaped by us. Bangalore has been at the forefront of the campaign to lead the bill,” said Mahesh. People should oppose the government version of
the Bill.

Little ones think big on corruption
“Corruption starts in families, and that is where we need to stop it” - these were the words by 16-year-old Rajalakshmi from a remote village in Andhra Pradesh. 

She was participating in a panel discussion held at St Joseph’s Indian School to commemorate 60 years of ChildFund in Asia.

The event drew children from Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. “Corruption is not only about giving or taking a bribe, it is also about gender differences and discrimination. Why should a girl stay at home when her brother goes to school? Why should there be differences between what a boy is fed and what a girl is fed?” she asked.

“Gandhiji said we will be truly free when a woman can walk out fearlessly at night. But the reality is we cannot do so even during the day. Where then is our freedom,” she asked. 

Some of the points raised by children touched the root of many problems plaguing the country.

Hanumantharaj, another participant from Andhra Pradesh, questioned the effectiveness of the Right to Education Act when the quality of education was so poor in government schools.

Wilson from Tamil Nadu wanted to know why in the name of politics, children were not given books even though two months had passed since the start of the new term. “How then do you expect children to stay in schools and not work as child labourers,” he asked. “Children are getting cheated because of corruption in the education system.”

The moderator for the event Vasudeva Sharma of Child Rights Trust said, “In the game of politics, children are being used as pawns. We have to make children equal partners in what we do. Children can make a change and they are known to have done so.”

Students show great interest
Volunteers of Corruption Saaku gathered data using the questionnaire method. They visited educational institutions, yoga classes, music classes and homes and manually tabulated the figures.

“At Maharani’s College, we first explained Jan lokpal Bill to students. When we asked them how many will participate in the campaign on August 16, every one said they would take part even if section 144 of Indian Penal Code was imposed,” said a volunteer.

Students from various city colleges expressed their enthusiasm in the movement against corruption.

The volunteers had another surprise in store. They distributed pamphlets and questionnaires to primary students without hope of any response. But the next day, 80% to 90% of the students returned the duly filled forms,” he said.

‘Let the Bill come first’
“Let the Lokpal Bill first come into existence. Then let the prime minister’s inclusion be decided. During a summit, the prime minister said there was so much corruption in politics and administration while two months prior, an act was introduced wherein three agencies looking into corruption were removed. While acting they say something, and while talking they say something else,” said Santosh Hegde.

It is important for the Bill to come into existence. Otherwise, it would get sidelined and mislead the public, he said.