Citizens Are Not Beggars

(Indian Currents) “India is the only country where citizens address bureaucrats as SIR. This in turn gives the impression that the government, as personified by the bureaucrat, is the dispenser of largesse, and the citizen a humble beneficiary of the same”. Had these words been uttered by a hard-core leftist they would not have raised an eyebrow. But if they emanate from a senior retired bureaucrat, then it is indeed breaking news, and we need to sit up and listen.

These words of wisdom came from Sri Anand Prakash Kala IRS (Retd), the former Special Secretary in the Union Finance Ministry. Earlier he had held several sensitive posts like DG Economic and Revenue Intelligence, Director Narcotics Bureau etc, and had received a Presidential Award for distinguished service. Among the highlights of his illustrious career was his arrest of the self-proclaimed god man Chandraswami in Dubai, and the raid on former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Ms Jayalalithaa, that resulted in her conviction and imprisonment.

With such a wealth of experience Kala was not talking through his hat. He was pinpointing some of the root causes of corruption at a seminar on “Corruption in Public Life” organized recently by the Kanpur Nagrik Manch. He said that in America there is no such thing as a bureaucratic service, as in India; which is a vestige of our colonial past where the Gora sahibs sat in their Raj Durbars. In America police chiefs, judges, the Mayor and other public servants are chosen by the local populace themselves; and hence are answerable and accountable to them.

Kala gave several instances of how the high and mighty in other countries came within the gambit of the law, as ordinary citizens. While in service he was on a three-day visit to Detroit, USA. Two days were “official” work so a car and driver were provided to him. The third day was a private matter, so he was politely told that he would have to pay for any services provided to him.

In the U.K. a Member of Parliament had made a seemingly innocuous enquiry from the Passport Office for expediting a particular case. He was made to resign within three days, for abuse of office. When then British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s son was arrested for drunken driving, Blair had to go personally to the police station to obtain bail for his son.

Unfortunately in India both bureaucrats and politicians live in ivory towers, beyond the pale of the common man. It is this unassailable power that corrupts absolutely. This interface between the powerful and powerless needs to change drastically. Legislation is inadequate for this. Societal pressure must be brought to bear. Corrupt persons should be ostracized and socially boycotted. Tolerance, and worse still, adulation of the corrupt is a grave danger. For this, citizens and social activists must be eternally vigilant, Kala said.

He also added a caveat that the provisions of Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act were too sweeping, as any form of pecuniary benefit to a third party could be misconstrued to be favouritism. Hence upright officers are sometimes loath to take decisions that could boomerang on them.

As a word of advice, Kala said that we need to be honest even in little things. If not, we could be prone to committing major wrongful acts later. He strongly advocated that citizens groups like the Kanpur Nagrik Manch should make the establishment of the rule of law as their target. Citizens should also openly support honest and dedicated officers who may be taking great risks to serve the nation, he opined.

Responding to various questions thrown at him from the floor of the house Kala said that in order to reduce corruption there should be a service delivery law, as in Karnataka State. If we have time bound responsibility, then work will be speeded up and corruption, or opportunities for it, will be greatly reduced. We need a monitoring system for time bound delivery of services.

Kala did not agree with Arvind Kejriwal’s approach of telling people to give bribes and photograph the act; as he felt that citizens should not assume the role of the police, or attempt vigilante style justice. As for the Lokpal, though it had political consensus there was still disagreement on its composition. Though the Lokpal should have its sphere of autonomy it cannot be both prosecutor and judge. Its powers need fine tuning, as absolute power corrupts absolutely. The Lokpal should not be vested with draconian powers. In fact Draco was a Greek who believed that the only punishment for an offence was death. Too drastic!

Kala agreed with the house that too much discretionary power vested in bureaucrats was a major source of corruption. Decentralization of power, as provided for in the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution (Panchayatiraj in rural areas) and the 74th Amendment (that provides for urban self-governance) needed to be implemented in the States.

As for the quantum of black money stashed abroad, there was no solace! Kala, who himself had been in the Enforcement Directorate, unequivocally stated that despite the political hype the figures are pure guesswork and mere conjecture. In fact there is much more black money here in India itself, rather than abroad. It will also not be easy to get such monies back to India without international bilateral treaties.

This upright and forthright top gun, who even now is a visiting faculty at the National Police Academy, CBI Academy, United Nations Drug Control etc., appreciated the work of the Kanpur Nagrik Manch and exhorted its members to fight against corruption  – for the citizens are not beggars. They must assert their lawful rights while at the same time fulfilling their duties as citizens.

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