The Lokpal billboard: ‘Rulers need to live simply’

The belief that absolute power corrupts absolutely is true. As expected, the drafting of the Lokpal Bill has hit a roadblock. The corrupt UPA-II government will keep stonewalling it till it becomes a non-issue. It is hell-bent on protecting wrongdoers and will go all out to ensure that it never sees the light of day. The action being taken against the corrupt is mostly due to the proactive stand taken by the judiciary. The government is wary of the judiciary and keeps maintaining that the executive (the Parliament) is higher in authority. This is ridiculous as nearly one-third MPs have criminal backgrounds. Even before the Lokpal Bill is finalised, reforms in many areas of governance are urgently required. 
—CK Subramaniam, Navi Mumbai

With ministers, politicians, bureaucrats and business barons becoming the real power-centres in India, the glory of Indian democracy is dead. The shameful efforts taken by politicians and power-brokers to appease Baba Ramdev are ample testimony of how scared tribes that are neck-deep in corruption are. The Lokpal must have the power to call anyone who is proved corrupt, no matter who he is. Only when our rulers learn to live a simple life and stop plundering national wealth will corruption in public life be eliminated. The government is in no mood to eradicate corruption. Earlier, we fought to free the country from colonial dominance. It is now time to launch a second struggle for independence to save our country from corrupt governance.
—VS Kalyanraman, Bangalore

Let’s recall that the preamble to our Constitution begins with the crucial word ‘We’ and that includes also those in the PMO and the judiciary. There is nothing insulting about bringing the PMO and the judiciary under the Lokpal Bill. Any public authority will appear to be clean only when it is open to criticism. Cleansing should start from the top. The posts that are highly dignified should volunteer to come out clean and be open to scrutiny or criticism. How can the office of the chief justice of India be exempted from the purview when we had people like KG Balakrishnan in that post in the past? I am confident that no honest Indian will ever shrink from the ambit of the Lokpal Bill, because it gives him a chance to establish that he is not corrupt.
—Prem K Menon, Mumbai

We feel the need for a Lokpal Bill because the existing laws have not been effective against corruption. If we allow for exceptions under this bill, will it be effective against the cancer of corruption? Laws should be the same for everyone. Recent news reports in the media show that the prime minister’s office is under suspicion. If there is concrete proof against the PMO, can it be neglected? Everyone should be brought under the purview of this bill. Only then can we get the best out of the Lokpal Bill.
—Jose, Oman

If the prime minister and the higher judiciary have to be brought under the jurisdiction of the Lokpal Bill, the ‘supercop’ Ombudsman himself has to be clean enough to sit on judgment over an elected prime minister and the chief justice of India. Who will select such a high-ranking official or elect him? Our experience with the former CVC has been bitter and the Lokpal has functions similar to those of the CVC. It should not happen that a crafty member of the joint drafting panel himself is working for the post.
—Subramanyan Viswanathan, Dombivli

We should try to understand the difference between a post and the person holding the post. If a person holding the post of prime minister is charged of corruption, it is the person who faces the charge and not the post. In fact, anyone holding high offices like those of the president, prime minister, and judges of the Supreme Court bring disrepute to the post when he or she indulges in corruption. The person has to be dealt with severely. There are myriads of agencies to deal with corruption by lesser persons, and so the Lokpal should mainly be for those at the highest level. No one should be exempt and allowed to get away with corruption. —Jagannathan, Navi Mumbai