‘Centre's neo-liberal policies themselves create, sustain corruption at highest level'
The Lokpal Bill that has been introduced in Parliament will set up “a very weak Lokpal,” Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat said here on Friday, while calling upon supporters of the party to combine the struggle against corruption with the one against the neo-liberal policies of the Centre.
“This Bill will set up a very weak Lokpal — a Lokpal that has no effective powers…We have a number of issues with the Lokpal Bill,” Mr. Karat said, adding that it exempted the office of Prime Minister, empowered the government in his removal, and included government officials in the appointment of the Lokpal — all of which would affect the independence of the Lokpal.
Mr. Karat emphasised that the “overall policy framework under the neo-liberal regime itself creates and sustains corruption at the highest level.” The problems of corruption, price rise, unemployment, farmers' distress, land grab and illegal mining are being created today because “the ruling class and government have adopted neo-liberal policies and transfer resources from the poor to the rich.”
He also said the government was refusing to act and change the policies on fuel prices, futures trading and the public distribution system that are essential in containing the escalation in prices of commodities.
He pointed out that in Parliament the Bharatiya Janata Party, which has been protesting against the government's failure to curb price rise, voted with the Congress on a resolution on price rise.
Only the Left and some secular parties said that they were against the draft and demanded a roll back on the increase in fuel prices, which has “only burdened the people,” he said.
Speaking at a function to mark the birth anniversary of one of the pioneers of the Left movement in India, Muzaffar Ahmed, Mr. Karat said those who believe in this ideology “must fight against the exploitative system.”
Mr. Karat said the country had witnessed two decades of liberalisation, which had brought growth to a narrow stratum of society.
“We have had growth that has led to deprivation among the vast masses of our people — inequalities have grown,” he said, adding that the government “was facilitating the loot and plunder.”
He said the imprisonment of the former Union Telecom Minister A. Raja, top bureaucrats and executives of corporations “was only the tip of the iceberg.”
A bill to eliminate corruption has been introduced into the lower house of India's parliament, but critics including lawyers and human rights activists are skeptical of the measures contained.

The Draft , introduced into parliament on Thursday, seeks to establish an ombudsman, or Lokpal, to investigate wrongdoing by government and officials. It comes after decades of campaigning against government corruption and the hunger strike of anti-corruption activist  earlier this year.

But the bill has been heavily criticized by Indian activists and lawyers who claim that it does not meet the needs of the people and will not free the country from corruption.

The exemption of the prime minister and other members of parliament from being investigated will prevent it from working successfully, they argue. "There is no substance in the discussion that the prime minister should be out of the Lokpal Bill," a judge on the  said on Wednesday, speaking outside his official capacity.

Following his hunger strike in April, Hazare pushed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to re-introduce the Lokpal Bill into Parliament. But he has condemned its current form calling it "a cruel joke." Hazare will again protest to have the draft bill revised and changed. "I will start my hunger strike from August sixteenth," he said.

, general secretary of the , yesterday said that the bill will set up "a very weak Lokpal – a Lokpal that has no effective powers". He also said that allowing government officials to appoint the Lokpal would affect its independence. 

After meeting with lawyers of the  Friday, members from , a citizen's movement, said that the lawyers agreed that the introduced Lokpal Bill would not get rid of corruption in India. 

Mark Dummit, from ''The BBC'', said that there is no guarantee that the bill will be passed. Past attempts have been denied by the upper house of Parliament since 1969.


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