The lack of political will alone is to blame for the Lokpal appointment delay. The Lokpal Act became law five years ago (January 16, 2014), and still an independent anti-corruption watchdog isn’t in place. Last week, the Supreme Court pushed the Centre in the right direction, setting a deadline for shortlisting names by February-end by the search committee. The BJP and Congress have been dragging their feet over meetings of the search panel to zero in on a suitable candidate to take charge of receiving complaints and investigating corruption among public servants, both politicians and bureaucrats. The 2013 law also called for Lokayuktas in states; but at least 12 states don’t have any ombudsman in place, others have vacancies while some states have never had one in their history.
Anna Hazare, the indefatigable campaigner for a Lokpal, has announced he will again be going on a fast from January 30 to press for the appointment of a Lokpal. As long as the BJP was in the Opposition, it was a keen campaigner for a Lokpal and many parties backed the social activist’s high-profile India Against Corruption movement. But in power, it has shown extreme reluctance to set in motion the appointment and has even put obstacles in the path of setting up a proper infrastructure to get an apolitical ombudsman-type of investigator in place. The wrangling over a place for the representative of the Congress should be seen only as an excuse to put off the appointment. Now that the Supreme Court has set a deadline, will the committee swing into action in earnest and shortlist candidates for the Lokpal’s post?
