How many anti-corruption watchdogs will it take, Karnataka CM?

Three decades ago, a famous dramatist of Karnataka, Master Hirannaiah, had launched a campaign against corruption through his satire play, Lanchavatara. He earned such popularity that politicians avoided attending his plays despite receiving invitations.

For, he would rip their reputation in front of the audience. Master Hirannaiah had come up with a unique solution to end corruption in the public sphere — if any government body is corrupt, take out its head!

Now, politicians in the state are using this famous line to describe what Karnataka’s chief minister Siddaramaiah has done to undermine the capability of the anti-corruption agency, the Lokayukta, which was considered a model for the rest of the country.

Last week, the state set up an Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) literally rendering the corruption watchdog Lokayukta toothless and powerless.

The fact that the government order was passed hurriedly overnight without even informing the Congress Legislature Party or the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council has led to a plenty of speculations. Former Union minister SM Krishna slammed Siddaramaiah for the "wrong" move, while former Lokayukta justice Santhosh Hegde termed it a dangerous trend.

The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government received widespread criticism for establishing the ACB under the purview of the bureaucrats unlike the Lokayukta where the police wing enjoyed absolute autonomy while probing corruption cases against government servants and elected representatives.

The Congress leaders, too, are not happy with Siddaramaiah’s decision, which is not a collective one, and they believe people may not be in favour of it. The new ACB will be headed by the state chief secretary, who in turn reports to the CM.

Anti-corruption crusaders are of the view that this will end the independence and the autonomy of the Lokayukta in investigating corruption related cases. Tomorrow, if there is a complaint against Siddaramaiah, then an Advisory Committee will screen the complaint before taking a decision on its fate.

It is widely known to all whether any government servant will give the nod to the ACB to probe against his/her political masters. Everyone agrees that this is an unhealthy trend as far as Karnataka is concerned because the Lokayukta had played an effective role in curbing corruption in the last 15 years. The ACB, on the contrary, will send wrong signals to society.

Justice Hegde, who played an instrumental role in the ouster of BJP leader BS Yeddyurappa from the CM’s chair in the mining scam, was clear that there was a hidden agenda behind the government forming the ACB. According to him, the government is taking shelter under a court order, which recommended the creation of a Vigilance Wing for each department. But that does not mean that the government can snatch away the autonomy of the Lokayukta.

First, the government is delaying the appointment of the new Lokayukta ever since Justice YS Bhaskar Rao quit after his son was named in a chargesheet accusing him of running an extortion racket. Several cases are pending probe in the Lokayukta and the morale of the officers is at an all-time low.

Going a step ahead, the government now intends to hand more tha the 800-plus cases pending before the Lokayukta to the ACB. The police wing in the Lokayukta could suo motu take up cases against any corrupt officer against whom a complaint is lodged. But under the ACB set up, the investigation team has to take approvals from a Vigilance Advisory Body, secretary — DPAR (Department of Personnel & Administrative Reforms) and in cases of the state chief secretary.

The anti-corruption crusaders have launched a state-wide agitation urging withdrawing the government order on creating the ACB. But Siddaramaiah is adamant and has informed the the state legislature that there was no question of dismantling the ACB.

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)