Waking up after the loot
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has finally woken up to the fact that a Lokpal needs to be appointed. This was one of the assurances he had given during his 2014 election campaign.
In the last five years the central government showed no interest in this. And not since the SC came down heavily on the government, a Lokpal has been appointed with just three months for the government to end.
The selection committee involving PM Modi, LS Speaker Sumitra Mahajan Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatagi and SC Chief Justice Gogoi have selected rtd SC justice Pinaki Chandraghosh as the first Lokpal of the country.
Congress leader of LS Mallikarjun Kharge boycotted the meeting because he was mentioned as only an invitee to the selection committee meeting.
Government should have appointed the Lokpal themselves. It didn’t have to be reminded by the SC for this. PM Modi didn’t show that will power. The authoritarian that he is, he does not like a system such as Lokpal. He had completely eradicated Lokpal even as the CM of Gujarat.
He has had major disagreements with the Lokpal in Gujarat. The Finding Committee was set up last September only because the Supreme Court insisted that it should be done.
The first meeting of this committee happened in February. And the committee finalized the name for the nation’s first Lok Pal. It is the duty of the Lok Pal to put corruption in public life under scanner. It is the duty of the Lok Pal to bring everyone under the radar of LokPal including former PM, current and former union ministers, current and former MPs and senior officers of enterprises under the union government.
Though a Lok Pal was recommended in 1968, no one had shown any interest in setting it up in the last five decades. Modi only offered words to the country despite clinching the power by promising “won’t eat, won’t allow others to either…” meaning he would not engage or encourage corruption in any form.
He kept projecting himself as the Chowkidar. But the scandals regarding Rafale happened during his time. The Hindu paper published a detailed report on the corruption charges in this.
Immediately the government through its AG claimed to the Supreme Court that the records regarding the deal were lost and the whole thing was reduced to a joke. Later they said the records were being copied.
India still ranks the lowest in global corruption index. CBI has been blamed for being partisan and corruption. Rafale deal is smacking of corruption. People are shouting ‘Chowkidar’ has stolen the money. Not just this, a lot of other charges have surrounded the government.
Under such circumstances, Modi government has set up a Lokpal like closing the door after the house is looted, just to show off that they are the integral lot. This is plain joke.
Modi government refuted the need for Lokpal by stating they are most honest ones. He protected those who wanted to escape abroad after looting the country, and compromised the structure of CBI, RBI and UGC.
He didn’t even bring back the black money. He waived off the loans of big corporates to the tune of two lakh crores and protected defaulters.
Though the list of defaulters was given to the PMO by last RBI governor, the govt continued to protect them.
Hence a lot of scandals have been covered up by the government because of the absence of Lokpal. Hopefully the new appointment would breathe some life into brazen system of this country.
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'Warm and engaging atmosphere reigned', Shashi Tharoor on Putin banquet
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, who on Friday attended a banquet for Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Rashtrapati Bhawan, on Saturday described the atmosphere there as "warm" and "engaging", and said he enjoyed his conversations with many of the attendees.
Tharoo’s remarks came a day after President Droupadi Murmu hosted a banquet for the visiting Russian president at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here.
“Attended the @rashtrapatibhvn banquet for President Putin last night. A warm and engaging atmosphere reigned. Enjoyed my conversations with many of the attendees, especially my dining companions from the Russian delegation!" Tharoor said in a social media post.
Murmu, while welcoming President Putin and his delegation at the banquet, had said that his visit marked an important milestone -- the 25th anniversary of the India-Russia strategic partnership, which was established in October 2000 during his first visit to the country as president.
Murmu also appreciated Putin's support and personal commitment to the India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership.
The Congress on Friday said that the leaders of the opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, were not invited to the banquet, and took a swipe at Tharoor for accepting the invite.
The party’s media and publicity department head, Pawan Khera, accused the government of breaking protocols daily and not believing in democratic principles.
“There is no invite to both the LoPs, Mr (Mallikarjun) Kharge and Mr (Rahul) Gandhi. This comes as a surprise, but I don't think we should be surprised. This government is known to be breaching all protocols. What else to say, ask the government,” Khera said on Friday.
Asked about Tharoor accepting the invite for the banquet, Khera said, "Ask Mr Tharoor. All of us who are in the party, if our leaders don't get invited and we get invited, we need to question our own conscience and listen to our conscience. Politics has been played in inviting or not inviting people, which in itself is questionable, and those who accept such an invite are also questionable."
“We would have listened to our voice of conscience,” he added.
Earlier, Tharoor had said that there was a time when the chairman of the external affairs committee was routinely invited, but that practice seems to have stopped some years ago.
On Thursday, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi alleged that the government tells visiting foreign dignitaries not to meet the leader of opposition due to its "insecurity".
His remarks came hours ahead of Putin's two-day visit to India.
