Jan Lokpal Bill: Singapore Has One So Why Shouldn’t We!

While looking forward to the current revolution on Jan Lokpal, we read this article on internet written by Bro.Rajesh Goradia, so sharing this good article with you all.

There are few fights in the world where the two opposing factions can be this easily labeled as white or black, right or wrong, good or evil. The fight for the Jan Lokpal Bill is one such rare example. Firstly, its objective is noble. It seeks to curb corruption in the Indian society. Secondly, the movement is unquestionable. It is not politically motivated. It is not going to bring the BJP or any other dubious party to power. It is a revolution led by an honest man and supported by the youth. Thirdly, the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill is based on proven measures for tackling corruption. As I will demonstrate in this post, the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill is strikingly similar to the laws of Singapore (the least corrupt nation of the world according to Transparency International). This information alone should suffice in putting an end to any dubious argument against the provisions of the bill.

The Singapore Experience

For a nation genuinely seeking to reduce corruption, there can be few better examples to follow that that of Singapore. In 2010, Singapore, along with Denmark and New Zealand, was ranked by Transparency International as the least corrupt nation in the world. Singapore achieved this position with several synergistic measures (Read: “Eradicating Corruption-The Singapore Experience“, by Mr. Muhammed Ali, Acting Assistant Director in 2000 of the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau – CPIB). One among these measures was the establishment of the CPIB for investigating corruption related complaints.

It is interesting to note here that the powers granted to the Lokpal under the proposed bill are very similar to those granted to the CPIB under the Singapore law. In the table below, I have compared the proposed version of the Jan Lokpal Bill with the provisions of Singapore’s Anti Corruption Law. I have taken pains to ensure that the sources of my information are absolutely genuine. I have hyperlinked all my sources so that the reader can verify the authenticity of the information.

A Comparision of the proposed Jan Lokpal Bill & Singapore’s Anti-Corruption Law

Proposed Jan Lokpal Bill	Singapore’s Anti Corruption Law
The Lokpal will be completely independent of the government. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations	CPIB’s independence of action was more or less guaranteed constitutionally. It reports directly to the PM’s office.
The loss that a corrupt person causes to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction	Besides fine and imprisonment, the person convicted of corruption offence will be ordered by the court to return the amount of bribe, which he had accepted in the form of a penalty.
The Lokpal can receive complaints from the public	Here is an online form that Singapore citizens can use to file a complaint
Deterrence has been provided against frivolous complaints in the form of financial penalties against the complainant	The CPIB has punished those who have tried to take undue advantage of this law.
Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician	The CPIB has complete police powers. It has the power to arrest, investigate and search. Search can also be performed without warrant, if necessary.
It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimized for raising their voice against corruption	The law guarantees protection of identity to the person reporting the offense
Enhanced punishment – The punishment would be minimum 5 years and maximum of life imprisonment.	The Singapore courts have in the past sentenced corrupt officers investigated by the CPIB to 14 years of imprisonment.
Its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process	Here the Singapore law differs in application but not on intent. The appointments to the CPIB are made by the President of Singapore who is directly elected by the people, thus reducing the ability of politicians and bureaucrats to influence the selection process.
Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years	Here the Jan Lokpal Bill deviates slightly. However, given that the CPIB manages to clear 98% of its cases within 90 days, this does not appear to a highly unreasonable clause.

So Why Is The Government Fighting The Bill?

This analysis brings us to the main point. If the Jan Lokpal Bill appears to be a no-brainer, why is the government fighting it? The government’s proposed version aims to make the Lokpal a toothless body which can work only in an advisory capacity (no police powers) and which can investigate only those complaints forwarded to it by the speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha (no complaints can be received from the public).

The answer to this question is simple. Power. An independent, powerful Lokpal will deprive Indian politicians of their primary source of livelihood – the misuse of power for personal gain. The specter of a strong body with prosecution powers haunts them because they fear accountability.

The Way Forward

Given the lack of strong political leadership, it is unlikely that the government is going to put in serious efforts to pass a bill that greatly diminishes its own power. The passage of this bill appears unlikely without a strong people’s movement.

So far, the movement appears to have made an impact. The government has agreed to the demands of 50% representation of civil society activists on the drafting committee for the Jan Lokpal Bill. But, the real test lies ahead. As time passes, the movement will lose steam. The politicians know it. They know how to buy time. To be passed into a law, the bill needs to be approved by the parliament and it would be no mean task trying to pass a strong anti-corruption bill through a Lok Sabha whose membership includes 150 members with criminal charges against them.

This is why it is so important that the movement continues till the end – till the day the bill is passed into a law. The movement for the Jan Lokpal Bill is a spotless movement with a noble objective, advocating a proven policy and it is worth every bit of the effort we put in.