Everyone remembers that during the Lok Sabha election campaign by Narendra Modi he had promised ‘Na Khaunga, na Khane Doonga” (will not take bribes, nor allow anyone else to do so)
What is the reality?
Anti-corruption policies require a legislative framework but the opposite has happened during the last two years of the Modi regime
The Lok Pal Bill, diluted as it was, was finally adopted by parliament and gazetted in January 2014. It has a clause which includes the Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the selection panel for the Lok Pal. Since there is legally no recognized LOP, it is obvious that the leader of the single largest party should be included. This requires a minor amendment. But in two years, the Modi Government has chosen not to bring this amendment which has frozen the operationalization of the law.
But instead, the Government has brought several amendments to dilute the law including more protections to bureaucrats and their family members.
The Gujarat model is clearly in evidence when for ten years there was no Lok Ayukta and was finally appointed only because of the intervention of the Court.
Remember Modi’s hypocritical support to Anna Hazare when he was on hunger strike for a Lok Pal.
Where is the Lok Pal Mr. Modi?
Prevention of Corruption Act (PCA)
The refusal to appoint a Lok Pal is linked to the Government’s clear opposition to the implementation of the Anti-Corruption law. It has moved amendments to the PCA to introduce a requirement for approval of the Lok Pal before any Government servants are prosecuted for corruption. But since there is no Lok Pal, the PCA also is effectively stayed.
Whistle Blowers Protection Act (WBPA)
Although the Act was passed in 2014 which provides for protection to whistle blowers including against their victimization, the Modi Government has in the last two years not even promulgated the Rules. Shockingly the Modi Government has brought amendments to the Act which will actually discourage anyone from reporting corruption. It seeks to exclude in the name of security and national interests anything which may rejudice “econimc intersts, strategic intersts etc. In other words the main areas where such corruption is know to be rampant are sought to be kept out of the purview of the law, thus depriving honest officers or citizens from reporting corrupt deals, as they will have no protection of the law.
Black Money
What happened to the promise to bring black money back? No action taken but worse, like the previous Congress led Government the Modi Government too is more interested in protecting the identity of those who have cheated the country and has refused to make public the list it received from some banks.
The Government passed a law with an amnesty scheme to black money holders who have cheated the country. This brought disclosures of just around 3770 crores rupees when the estimates range from 1 lakh crores and above!This is a far cry from the boasts made by Modi during his campaign of bringing back the black money within 100 days and putting 15 lakh rupees into bank accounts of the poor.
It is the Supreme Court which has set up a Special Investigation Team on the issue of bringing back the black money. The Government has not acted even on the latest disclosures of the Panama papers of hundreds of Indians who are hiding their money abroad.
BJP Leaders
What about the range of BJP leaders involved in scams, why has no action been taken against them as for example:
On May 1, 2015 in an audit report placed in Parliament, the CAG named Nitin Gadkari as the “promoter and/or Director of Purti Sakhar Karkhana that had taken loans from Government in violation of guidelines. This brought back to the forefront the serious charges made against him. What about Shiv Raj Chauhan and his alleged role in the shocking Vyapam scam ?What about other leaders like Vasundhara Raje and Sushma Swaraj whose names were linked to the Lalit Modi scam? The return of Yeddyurappa, as the BJP Chief in Karnataka shows the scant respect the BJP has for probity in public life. Other Ministers in Maharsahtra like Pankaja Munde accused of making money even on the food for children of thepoor in ICDS schemes or Eknath Khadse accused of dubious land deals have been protected by the BJP leadership.
It seems the reality of the last two years is Khau, piyo, mast raho (eat, drink and be merry)