Jan Lokpal Bill will check 65% of corruption in India: Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare landed in Ahmedabad on a two-day visit.  He will attend a series on programmes in the city on Thursday. On Wednesday, he visited the slum-dwellers on Sabarmati riverfront and expressed solidarity with them. He said he was determined to make the country corruption-free. The crusader said that judicial officers should be brought within the ambit of the Jan Lokpal Bill and suggested that the lokpal should be empowered to initiate inquiries against judicial officers and submit report to the Supreme Court. In an interview with DNA, Hazare said that lessons on the evils of corruption should be included in school textbooks so that the young generation can know about the danger of the malady.

How effective will be this Jan Lokpal Bill?
I believe that Jan Lokpal Bill will put brake on at least 65% of corruption in the country at both upper and lower levels in society. For example, today the poor people have to pay bribe to get their ration card done. The bill can stop it, as after applying for the ration card one reference number will go to Jan Lokpal as well. So the poor man will not need to pay bribe for it. At the same time, this bill will cover the judiciary system as well. So, the Jan Lokpal can initiate inquiry against judges. People approach the judiciary to get justice and if there is corruption in it, where should they go? The Jan Lokpal will not be taking any action against the judges, but it will submit its inquiry report to the Supreme Court.

Do corruption and development go hand in hand?
Corruption and development are like the two sides of a coin. They can’t face each other. So, we need to ensure that only eradication of corruption and negligence towards development don’t happen. At the same time, if there is development without eradication of corruption, the fruits of development can’t percolate to the last man of society.

What are your observations on Gujarat’s social stand against corruption?
This is the state of Mahatma Gandhi. People of Gujarat should stand up against corruption. We have adopted 85 villages for rural development. We tried for it in Gujarat as well. But no one came forward. I can understand that a person with a family having wife, children and parents at home cannot come on the roads to fight against corruption. How can they go to jail for the cause?

So what are the qualities needed to fight corruption?
The fight against corruption is very tough. People will call you ‘corrupt’, they will malign your image. So, one has to have five qualities — clean character, pure thoughts and behaviour, spotless life, sacrifice, and capacity to digest insult. One will have to sacrifice a lot to fight corruption.  

It should also have the power to prosecute the delinquent. And for this purpose, a special court or courts should be created with a special staff for prosecution. It should also have the powers to take suo motu cognisance of delinquency in any sphere. All the staff at its disposal must be recruited by it and answerable only to it. The present requirement of sanction for prosecution should be dispensed with.

In view of the above jurisdiction vested in the institution, the CVC will become redundant. But the CBI will have to continue as an essential institution and its assistance should be available to the institution on a priority basis. The work of the parliamentary committees should not be interfered with, as indeed this cannot be done, nor is it necessary to do so.