Four years have passed since the passage of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act by Parliament. The appointment of an anti-corruption ombudsman still eludes us. Those who made the fight against corruption the cornerstone of their politics are busy fighting other battles.
Their Lokpal Andolan (movement) that famously brought Parliament to its knees in 2011, has been relegated to the back-burner. The outrage it had generated though produced political results. The then ruling party, the Congress, was reduced to double digits in the Lok Sabha. The Narendra Modi-led BJP won a massive majority in the Centre; Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP debuted in politics in Delhi Assembly. But the country never got its watchdog.
The now dormant Lokpal Act underwent an amendment in 2016—a watering down of sorts. The due date for declaration of assets of public servants and NGO trustees, their wives and families, was relaxed. And the Act itself remains inactive without a Lokpal. It’s the technical knockout of the Congress which has come in the way.
As the principal opposition party, it does not have the numbers to lay claim on the Leader of Opposition post. The Lokpal selection panel needs to have the LOP on board. Though the Supreme Court in 2017 ruled that the government could go ahead without an official LOP, no such move has been initiated.
Well, ironies never cease: the political forces which came to power riding on the public disaffection due to the all-pervasive corruption during the UPA rule, are not even mentioning Lokpal. The tables seem to have turned. The Grand Old Party which lost most of its grandness courtesy the corruption taint, is now mocking the PM for dragging his feet.
And Anna Hazare whose Gandhian satyagraha for Lokpal gave him 15-minutes of television fame and nothing more, is threatening to revive the struggle, without much public response though. Nonetheless, it’s time the people got their first Lokpal. The executive must honour the legislative enactment to restore public faith in the process of lawmaking.