The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘Civil society must push for Lokpal Bill'

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Sunday, Jun 12, 2011
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

‘Civil society must push for Lokpal Bill'

Staff Reporter

N. Santosh Hegde

Bangalore: As the Government has no desire to oppose corruption, civil society must do all it can to pass the Lokpal Bill, which can check the malaise, Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde said, while speaking at an interaction with members of the Jayanagar Welfare Association.

Mr. Hegde emphasised that formulating the Lokpal Bill, which would create an ombudsman to oversee corruption cases, was the best possible way to tackle corruption. At the forum, titled ‘Cascading corruption and its solutions', retired High Court Judge A.J. Sadashiva; retired bureaucrat V. Balasuramanium; and Mr. Hegde discussed various solutions to corruption.

Mr. Balasubramanian, former secretary of the Central Silk Board, talked about the contrasts in the way corruption was dealt with in India and China. “In China, severe punishment and even executions for major corruption cases are meted out. Here, even when a case of corruption is very apparent, the politician goes scot-free because of loopholes in the legal system. The solution lies outside the Constitution,” he said.

But, Justice Sadashiva disagreed, saying the judiciary in the country was capable of handling the corrupt. “Commissions can be formed to investigate,” he said. He conceded that corruption has affected the judiciary too and that judges should be included under the purview of the Lokpal Bill. The forum was held at the Rashtrotthana Sharirika Shikshana Kendra in Jayanagar.

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