People will have to be vigilant'

Interview with Prakash Karat, general secretary, CPI(M).

THE position of the Left parties on the contours of the Lokpal Bill was clear from the beginning. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) had rejected the government's version introduced in Parliament and demanded that a new one be crafted taking into account some of the features of the Jan Lokpal Bill and other viewpoints as well. It advocated the inclusion of the Prime Minister within the Lokpal's ambit, an independent National Judicial Commission, and electoral reforms that could, among other things, check the influence of money power in elections.

The Left parties, as a whole, upheld Hazare's right to protest and decried his arrest on August 16. Prakash Karat spoke to Frontline on his party's views on the Lokpal Bill, the Anna Hazare agitation and the issue of corruption. Excerpts:

Do either of the two Lokpal Bills, the government's Bill and the one drafted by Anna Hazare's team, address the issue of corruption in its entirety?

Firstly, the problem of corruption has to be properly understood. We have seen an exponential rise in corruption in high places and in all public spheres in the last two decades. This is a direct outcome of the neoliberal regime that has been put in place and the development of a nexus between big business, ruling politicians and bureaucrats. The spate of corruption scandals in the recent period has evoked a strong public reaction. It is in this background that the Lokpal Bill became the focus. Though the Congress leadership spoke about its commitment to bring in a Lokpal Bill, it soon became evident that it had no intention of setting up a strong and effective Lokpal. The government Bill is an ineffective and useless piece of legislation. This is what prompted the Anna Hazare-led agitation and the hunger strike. There was a public outpouring of support for the fast and the demand for an effective Lokpal Bill. The Jan Lokpal Bill, in contrast to the government Bill, is better, but there are areas in this Bill also which need to be reconsidered.

What is the position of the CPI(M) on the structure and constitution of a Lokpal?

As far as our party is concerned, we have come out with a comprehensive note on the Lokpal. Unlike the government Bill, we want the Prime Minister to be brought under the purview of the Lokpal. We are not for the higher judiciary being brought in the Lokpal as the Jan Lokpal Bill suggests. We agreed with the Jan Lokpal Bill that Lokayuktas be set up in States on the lines of the Central Lokpal authority, but how to get this implemented should be considered. We are also for a separate mechanism to deal with the redress of citizens' grievances and for a citizens' charter. We also want the selection procedure of the Lokpal to be broad-based so that it is not packed with government nominees, to ensure the independent base of the Lokpal. We are also for the Lokpal being armed with powers to cancel contracts given to business enterprises by the government if they have been acquired by illegal means. The Lokpal should also be able to blacklist firms that indulge in corrupt practices and to impose penalties and fines to recover losses suffered by the state. Significantly, the government Bill is silent about this aspect altogether.

Is the Lokpal the only way to fight corruption, considering that corruption in government is not the only challenge?

The Lokpal legislation is an important first step in the efforts to curb corruption. We want a separate mechanism to look into corruption in the judiciary, and for this there should be a National Judicial Commission established by a separate law. There have to be electoral reforms designed to curb the use of money power in elections. This is the main source of political corruption. There have to be measures to unearth black money and changes in taxation laws to that effect.

As I stated at the outset, corruption is not a malaise due to lack of morality or ethics. It stems from the nature of the economic regime that we have. The state acts as the facilitator and the handmaiden for the transfer of public assets and resources to big business, big contractors and real estate promoters. One has to strike at the nexus of this trio of big business, politicians and bureaucrats. This needs a change in the present policies which promote the loot of natural resources and public funds. For instance, one cannot stop the loot of mineral resources without stopping private companies in mining or the sale of public sector assets cheaply and their privatisation.

The civil society movement basically directs its fire only at politicians and does not talk about the big business-corporate source of corruption. In every major corruption scandal in the recent period, whether it be the 2G case or the Commonwealth Games corruption, you will find that corporates and business enterprises have paid bribes and suborned public servants.

While the Left made its stance clear, and which was pointed out by Team Anna, the Bharatiya Janata Party dithered for some time. What kind of a role did the BJP, as the main opposition party, play in this entire saga?

The BJP has been complicit in the neoliberal policymaking, which has opened the floodgates for this corruption. After all, it was in the BJP-led government that the telecom policy of first-come, first-served was devised. It is the BJP government in Karnataka that has presided over the loot of resources and the monstrous growth of the mining mafia. So, if they are talking about fighting corruption, they should examine what their role has been.

The Anna Hazare-led movement was successful in getting the attention of the government. Is it possible that it may take a while to get a strong Lokpal?

The Anna Hazare movement has definitely registered success in compelling the government and getting Parliament to address the need for an effective Lokpal. However, given the vested interests involved, efforts will still be made to dilute any effective law. The people will have to be vigilant. As far as the Left parties are concerned, we will continue to mobilise people and conduct the struggle for bringing all the other measures which I have stated are necessary to fight the menace of corruption.