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Analysis | Share This Page | |||||||||
Laughable Lokpal Debate! |
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by Dr. Rajinder Puri |
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The debate in parliament yesterday on the Lokpal Bill was fascinating. It revealed how legal eagles spar and fence over every word, comma and nuance of the Constitution to construct what they consider a proper law. Mr. Kapil Sibal and Mrs. Sushma Swaraj were at their eloquent best. The whole nation with bated breath watches how the great Lokpal debate proceeds in parliament and on the street outside. Politicians and editors argue whether there should be this kind of Lokpal Bill or that kind of Lokpal Bill. Alas, apart from this ignorant scribe nobody argues whether there should be any Lokpal Bill at all. Do we lack laws to curb corruption? Do we lack institutions created to curb corruption? No, we lack the will to implement the laws and utilize the institutions created to curb corruption. Our current problem is not related to law. It is related to implementing law. The challenge is to ensure that what the law tells us we actually follow. If for the sake of argument a consensus on the Lokpal Bill does finally emerge and a law is framed, what then? Will we implement it? I draw attention to the framers of the Constitution who were no less well versed in law than either Mr. Sibal or Mrs. Swaraj. Consider what after prolonged debates they finally framed and what happened to the laws they thus framed. Article 79 of the Constitution states:
Article 53 (1):
Article 75(1):
Article 78:
Article 86 (1):
This is how the original Constitution was written. Subsequent amendments such as the 42nd Amendment were introduced to dilute the powers of the President. Nevertheless even after such amendments the substantial powers of the President as outlined remain. Contrast these laws with the actual role of the President who must dutifully read out what is prepared by the Council of Ministers, and stand like a dummy every Republic Day to salute the passing out parade. Is the problem confronting the nation therefore one of inadequate law or of inadequate implementation? For all the fiercely competing protagonists of the Lokpal Bill, I rest my case. |
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27-Dec-2011 | ||||||||||
More by : Dr. Rajinder Puri | ||||||||||
Views: 1498 Comments: 3 | ||||||||||
Comments on this Article
Milan Gupta 07/23/2012 10:17 AM
Dinesh Kumar Bohre 12/28/2011 04:38 AM
v.haribabu 12/28/2011 02:03 AM |
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