Netas have no regard for values today: Ex-Lokayukta Santosh Hegde
Santosh Hegde, former Lokayukta of Karnataka and Supreme Court judge, and the anti-corruption warrior whose joined the movement to bring in the Lokayukta Act, rues that the current crop of politicians have no regard for values. In an interview with Bansy Kalappa, Justice Hegde talks about the state of politics, the judiciary and corruption.
IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil resigned because he felt the “fundamental building blocks of democracy are being compromised”. What do you feel?
As a bureaucrat, you are not supposed to follow any political philosophy. Some stay on in the bureaucracy and bring in that political philosophy into administration. Bureaucrats are not to be influenced by political thinking. They are to serve within the framework of administrative law and the Constitution. There is no such thing as political philosophy for the judiciary or executive (bureaucracy). The government goes by the philosophy of the ruling party. In my opinion, you can have a political philosophy but you cannot give expression to it publicly. And what happens if bureaucrats do not want to serve a government that is not in conformity with their political thinking? There will be people who resign during one political regime or other -- left, right or centrist thinking -- and there will be none left to serve the nation. If one has a strong political philosophy, it is good to resign.
Politics has now become a slug fest...
Anything the government does, the other side opposes. Look at Article 370, they can buy land here but we cannot buy land there. There are other discriminatory laws which need to be addressed. We must remember that in 1964, two months after Nehru passed away, the Congress took up the issue of dropping Article 370 for discussion.
What do you think about politics today?
There is no respect for values. Politicians need to respect values. Look at the lives of our politicians, ministers, chief ministers... is there anything inspiring to learn from them? So many acquire power and use it satisfy their selfish needs.
Is enough being done to tackle corruption?
Not enough is being done to tackle corruption. I would say only about a tenth of what we need is being done, both in the state and at the Centre. A Lok Pal has been appointed, but I don’t know what is being tangibly done to fight corruption.
Complaints are being raised about the misuse of the Enforcement Directorate, Income Tax department and Central Bureau of Investigation...
There may be misuse, I am not denying it. But the one who has been accused of criminal activity has to raise it before an appropriate court and seek relief. But once they go to court and it gives a verdict, it has to be accepted. I am not saying that everyone in court is honest. But if you are not satisfied, you can file an appeal in a higher court. DK Shivakumar went to the High Court, he could have gone to the Supreme Court to challenge the order, but he didn’t, now he cannot say his mother is suffering and so on. In criminal jurisprudence, the principle of equality or discrimination does not apply. A person who is guilty is independently guilty.
Entrepreneur VG Siddhartha committed suicide and blamed harassment by tax authorities...
In his letter, Siddhartha said he had cheated, he said he did not give this information to his auditors and that he cheated his friends. The I-T department released shares to allow him to sell them. I’ve heard that he was respectful to elders and did not show off his wealth and all that, but he had committed wrong.
As someone who has served as ombudsman, what do you say?
There is a part of society that is “bad”. Greed controls those people’s thoughts, not laws. They could be judges and bureaucrats... Janardhan Reddy tried to bribe a judge, and was convicted. A part of society has become greedy. I have gone to educational institutions, to 1079 schools, to speak to students not to tolerate corruption. Boycotting the corrupt is the only way to fight corruption, it is more powerful than a death sentence. Contentment and humanism are important for society.