Criticising Team Anna’s draft for the Jan Lokpal bill, Aruna Roy said that it would lead to massive corruption due to the centralisation of power.
Criticising Team Anna’s draft for the Jan Lokpal bill, the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI) founder member, Aruna Roy, has said that it would lead to massive corruption due to the centralisation of power. Roy was speaking during a meet-the-press event organised by the Pune Union of Working Journalists on Tuesday.
“The Jan Lokpal talks of centralisation of power, in a single body, which would not be under anyone’s scrutiny. This is a dangerous situation and would lead to rampant corruption,” she said.
The eminent Magsaysay awardee and Right to Information (RTI) crusader said that on the question of placing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) within the purview of the Lokpal, NCPRI was in agreement with Team Anna.
The issue of the Lokpal bill has wedged a divide between Roy and Team Anna members, especially her once-upon-ardent votary, Arvind Kejriwal. Roy had criticised the proposed draft of the Jan Lokpal made by Team Anna, as “impractical and unworkable”.
On their part, Kejriwal and other Team Anna members had claimed that NCPRI had not submitted any workable draft on the matter and accused them of diluting the fight for a strong Lokpal.
Speaking about the presentations made before the standing committee of the Parliament, Roy expressed satisfaction about the progress of the bill.
“The standing committee was very open about the four cardinal suggestions made by us and they also signalled that the same would be passed in concurrence,” she said.
A separate grievance redressal mechanism, a powerful national judiciary commission to look after the transfers, postings and cases of corruption against judges, and the passage of the Lokpal and the Lokayukta bills were some of the suggestions, which Roy had referred to.
Roy expressed concern about Team Anna’s suggestion of placing group C&D employees of the central government under the purview of the Lokpal, claiming it would overburden the existing system.
However, she acknowledged that the massive public agitation led by Hazare for a strong Lokpal bill had increased the “political education of the masses”.
“In a democracy, we should honour dissent and disagreement in public life. The final decision about the question would be taken by Parliament as it is supreme in the democratic set-up,” she said.
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