Comment Pieces

Will the Lokpal Bill die a premature death?

Activists drafting the Lokpal Bill have made it clear in their statement that the government wants to kill the Bill even before it’s born. The government says that it would be an eleven member body. Benches of these eleven members would take all decisions. The Lokpal would have powers to receive public grievances from ordinary people. So, if an income tax officer demanded a bribe to give an income tax refund in Bangalore, the citizen will have to make a complaint to the eleven member body in Delhi and come to Delhi for hearings. It would be impossible for these eleven officers to attend to thousands of complaints from across the country. The government, however, has not responded on how it intends to implement this.