Corruption will decrease only if the corrupt go to prison: Anna

Taking on the government for presenting a toothless Lokpal bill in Parliament, Anna Hazare today said a weak anti-corruption body will not deter corruption or those who are corrupt. “The protest against the bill in Parliament was relevant because it is a weak Lokpal,” Hazare said, reacting to information that many political parties are against the current draft.[caption id=“attachment_163447” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The fight is on. Reuters”]  [/caption] “The government is afraid to include CBI under the ambit of Lokpal because if it does then many of its ministers will be behind bars,” he told reporters in his native Ralegan Siddhi. “There is no provision to punish a corrupt official if he fails to entertain the request of a common citizen within 30 days. Lokpal should have powers to punish the guilty. Till the moment the corrupt won’t go to the prison, corruption will not go away from this country,” Hazare said. “Parliament should pass an effective Lokpal law for states to emulate. I have faith in Parliament. If Parliament fails to do that, I shall fast for three days and take up my jail bharo programme. After that I shall go to the five poll-bound states and campaign against parties who opposed Jan Lokpal. I shall also campaign against those parties in the national election later,” the Gandhian said. “Whoever protested the Jan Lokpal should not get votes,” he said. The Gandhian, however left the complicated issue of quota, could be left to the wisdom of Parliament and avoided a direct comment. “I leave that to the wisdom of Parliament,” he said, when asked about different quotas including minorities. As a little respite from the heated Lokpal issue, Hazare thanked RJD supremo Lalu Prasad for expressing concern about his health who advised him not to fast. “I am grateful,” he said.