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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Don't rush

Don't rush

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published Published on Dec 16, 2011   modified Modified on Dec 16, 2011

-The Times of India

 

It's welcome that political parties across the board have evolved a broad consensus on some key elements of the contentious Lokpal Bill. Big strides have been taken in the process of framing a cogent anti-corruption legislation. After months of acrimony, the majority of political parties have come around to endorsing two of Team Anna's salient recommendations: placing the prime minister as well as the lower bureaucracy under the Lokpal's purview. It should now be possible towork out the details with a little more deliberation and some give-and-take among stakeholders.

But the real sticking point appears to lie with the status, jurisdiction and mode of functioning of the CBI. Till now the government and the opposition, as well as Team Anna, have held on firmly to differing positions. The opposition parties have been united in their demand to make CBI a truly autonomous and effective tool of investigation, unshackled from political meddling. The government, for its part, has stuck to its position of retaining control and maintaining the status quo. But that is unacceptable to both Team Annaand opposition parties. They are wary of the CBI's past record and the way successive central dispensations, regardless of their political affiliations, have misused the agency, leveraging it to harass their political adversaries while granting a reprieve to friends and allies.

There's no doubt that for the anti-graft legislation to work, making CBI truly trustworthy and effective is a make-or-break issue. Though equipped with the expertise to conduct fair and professional investigations, the agency at present is a byword for opacity and political meddling. For reclaiming public trust the CBI has, first and foremost, to be made independent. Next, the Lokpal can be given some supervisory powers for keeping track of investigations ordered by it.

Much work on the Lokpal still needs to be done. But given the progress on Lokpal negotiations, Team Anna should now hold off its proposed agitation. Launching an indefinite fast, as Anna has declared, is unnecessary at this point of time. There is little merit in the Gandhian's ultimatum on passing the Lokpal Bill in this session itself. A Bill, of the complexity and significance of Lokpal, needs to be scrutinised by experts and the details of its implementation worked out. It's been a tactical victory for Anna that he has succeeded in goading the government to prioritise the Lokpal Bill. He should hold his counsel now.

The Times of India, 16 December, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/opinion/edit-page/Dont-rush/articleshow/11123266.cms


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