It is true that corruption is rife in all spheres of Indian democracy. This is indicative of the recent popular support for the fight against corruption and its repercussions on elections in some states. The younger generation is disturbed by corruption in society, governance and the bureaucracy. The Lokpal Act has been approved by the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, which are part of our Parliament. Whether this is conducive to democracy or not, the Lokpal system will do more harm than good in the future. If the present Lokpal system is misused, democracy, which has become a political dictatorship, will turn into a dictatorship in the future.
We are following parliamentary democracy. Inadequacies in the Constitution and the legal system are also fraught with inadequacies in the functioning of our Parliament. In a parliamentary democracy, power is vested in a parliament consisting of members of the legislature elected by the people. The Lokpal system will not work if it is governed by a committee of a few individuals above such a parliament. Who should determine the integrity and purity of this regulatory body? What control are people going to have in it. Is a committee of inquiry beyond the control of the people beyond the sovereign parliament? Would not the investigative powers of this committee be misused to punish anyone who opposes the policy? Wouldn’t this abuse lead to dictatorship in the future? If so, will it not mark the end of our democracy? Many doubts remain.
The Bofors case, the fodder scam, the stamp scam, the stock market scam, the Palmolin case, the Lavlin, the coffin case, and many other scams of political significance have taken place in India. All these are being investigated by various investigative agencies. All these have gained media prominence. It is true that no action has been taken on the issue of electioneering. While it is true that all these scams that have gained international news prominence have cost the government a lot of money, are these scams the only ones that have pushed our economy backwards? Which made public life miserable. Neither our government nor our legal system has been able to give an exact answer to this.
The various corruptions going on in India today, which are holding back our economy and affecting the lives of the people, need to be examined. High-level corruption, which is based on policy formulation, project formulations, government-based defense forces, services, procurement of machinery for public sector industries, mining, licenses, contracts, and so on, is gaining national and international news prominence. One of the main purposes of giving news importance to such scams is the politics within it. But more and more corruptions are taking place in our country on a daily basis, making public life miserable. Political regimes do not take steps to control or reduce any of them. Although there are occasional reports about this, the media does not pay attention to find the sources of such scams and find solutions to them.
We need to study whether any citizen can be in our country without having to go through government offices in search of permits, decisions on applications, various types of certificates. It has been demonstrated in all government offices that bribery and bribery are punishable. Officials can complain to the vigilance cell if they take bribes. There are also telephone numbers to contact them. Many people approach vigilance when they are tired of going into government offices many times. In some cases, action is taken. But in many cases no action is taken. The fact is that Vigilance is not even willing to investigate allegations of corruption in public works and panchayat offices, even if they are lodged directly with the Chief Minister. But many pay bribes to officials for the sake of efficiency. This will motivate many to avoid having to spend days in government offices, even for trivial matters. Why such a democratic system. It is the system of government that leads the people to misery by the government itself. Its purpose is different. Because loopholes and contradictions remain in the legal system and officials are regulated in accordance with the instructions of the superior or politician, the decision on the same matters remains the same in different offices, with clear rules for bureaucratic procedures. In the absence of clear conditions, the application does not stipulate that the applicant must be informed of the decision within the stipulated time, that there is no provision for punitive action in the event of a breach of duty, that the conduct of the bureaucracy is permanent, and that there is a perception that political protection and loopholes in the law can be avoided in the event of a breach. Convinced, many government officials are prone to corruption, often for reasons such as paid suspension or relocation. To date, no one has studied how much government officials and politicians earn from the public through bribes in a financial year. In this sense, the scale of corruption on a daily basis is greater than the stories of corruption that have made headlines for political purposes.
Is it not because officials are governed by instructions from above in a centralized system of government that they are reluctant to take legal action when there are political activities, religious activities, hartals and struggles that infringe on the rights of their fellow citizens? Aren’t these the same reasons why court judgments are not enforced? Shouldn’t this be called corruption?
The nature of our government construction activities is to show a high contract amount in the estimate and complete the work at minimal cost and distribute the profits to the contractor, government officials and the political and administrative leadership. Does this indicate corruption or inadequacy of the rules? Such trends are responsible for the deterioration of government construction activities and the need for short-term reconstruction or repairs. While development activities are the responsibility of the government, the lawmakers are also guaranteed money through such scams by providing the respective constituency development funds to the lawmakers. Such corruption not only delays our infrastructure development but also wastes people’s tax money unnecessarily.
Today, there are no government departments, offices or public sector institutions in India that do not show bureaucratic corruption. On a daily basis, the scale of corruption at the official level is ten times higher than the level of corruption at the top level and gaining a lot of news coverage. Such corruption at the official level complicates the lives of ordinary citizens, lags behind developments, lacks access to government financial assistance, and undermines development finances, reduces public works and prolongs work indefinitely.
Corruption in local political-bureaucratic relations is in addition to the corruption perpetrated at the top and government levels. Nokkukooli, compulsory political collection, levy, related to essential mining materials such as soil, sand, granite, etc. Illegal mining, selfishness and struggles over it, money laundering and the growth of mafia groups. Corruption is the failure to take action and enforce court rulings when the rights of ordinary citizens are violated under the guise of bribery and political influence. Literature prepares for crime, law and order, mafia gangs and gangsterism in the society and helps some people to live by exploiting the public without working and sweating.
There is corruption in all spheres of democracy in our country. The legal and administrative system of our country is a research laboratory on how corruption can take place. Contradictions in the Constitution and the rule of law, lack of clarity, centralized governance, bureaucratic governance as directed, non-transparent and transparent political and bureaucratic practices, delays in appeals to ordinary citizens, inconsistencies in the workings of the government, and lack of clarity on penalties for violations are some of the reasons for this. What is the use of implementing a Lokpal system where power over Parliament is possible without finding a solution? In India, where the rules, regulations and protocols are not clear, on what basis should this committee investigate and make decisions?
A democratic system that is moving from error to serious error. What does the appointment of investigative agencies and the legitimacy of it by our Parliament indicate?
Sunilji
Communication Associate
Institute for Sustainable Development and Governance