Saturday, December 4, 2010

Civil society demands an effective Lokpal



The former IPS officer and social activist Kiran Bedi has joined hands with social activists Arvind Kejriwal, Anna Hazare and Sunita Godara and religious leaders Swami Agnivesh, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Yoga Guru Ramdev and the Arch Bishop of Delhi to demand setting up of an effective anti-corruption agency that aims to bring to book those guilty of siphoning off public money.The voice against corruption is increasingly becoming pro-active. Recently, the  group of activists, backed by people from all cross-sections of the Indian society, went beyond just the rhetoric and drafted a Lokpal Bill to plug loopholes in the Indian anti-corruption system. They then forwarded the Bill to the Prime Minister with a request to make it a law. 


Speaking on the occasion Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said it was rare that the religious leaders commented on government policies. But when the situation became dire, they cannot remain mute spectators and had to intervene. “Unless we have effective systems to book and punish the corrupt speedily, we will never be able to tackle corruption. It is difficult for the Prime Minister to take action against his own ministers when he is heading a coalition government. Therefore, he should immediately set up independent systems on the lines of election commission.”  Read more

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