The Sentinel: National: Tuesday,
November 08, 2016.
The theme for
the Vigilance Awareness Week 2016 is ‘Public participation in promoting
integrity and combating corruption’. The
very core idea of the Vigilance Awareness Week being observed under the
initiative of Central Vigilance Commission is that the Commission realized that
in a huge country like India, we cannot promote integrity and combat corruption
unless there is participation of the public.
What is
‘Integrity’ and ‘Corruption’
Integrity is
basically the state in which there is complete coherence and no division. From a practical point of view, integrity
means honesty or straightforwardness. As
the Central Vigilance Commission deals with the issue of integrity, it looks up
it in three different angles. One of
course is the integrity relating to intellectual integrity, the second is
financial integrity and the third is moral or ethical integrity.
The word
corruption is defined by the World Bank as use of public office for private
gain. So far as the strict legal aspect
is concerned, the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 defines the objective
conditions for the court to decide whether the act of corruption taken place or
not when a case comes before that forum.
For our analysis in this paper we may adopt World Bank definition of
using public office for private gain is relatively accurate and broad based and
easy for understanding.
Public
Participation
We may now
examine the theme of ‘public participation for promoting integrity and
combating corruption’ in the context of our country and the government of
India.
It was TN
Seshan, the former Chief Election Commissioner of India who suggested that if the Central Vigilance Commission were
to observe one week in a year as a ‘Vigilance Awareness Week’, it will help
focusing the attention of promoting integrity and combating corruption right
across entire spectrum of government organizations which directly come under
the jurisdiction of the CVC but will also have a multiplier effect by way of
bringing the whole issue in the public domain.
What was
visualized by Shri Seshan, has today set an excellent track record and as we
look back at the history of the past two decades, we will find that the youth
of today can immediately find resonance with the concept of integrity and
combating corruption as the sine qua non for good governance.
In a way, the
Vigilance Awareness Week has set into motion of virtuous cycle, one good
development following another. It will
be appropriate, on the occasion the Vigilance awareness week to quickly trace
the developments in the area of public governance in our country since 2000
when the Vigilance Awareness Week was launched.
To begin
with, the background of the changes brought about by the Central Vigilance
Commission and the focus on promoting integrity and combating corruption in
public life is in reality, a saga of the changes that public participation has
brought about.
The Advent
of RTI Act
Ironically,
the beginning in recent times of public participation demanding accountability
on governance and checking corruption was in Rajasthan, one of the most
backward states of the country. Different states in our country are at
different stages of development and though there is a cultural integrity of
India, we are a multi ethnic, multi lingual and multi speed country. From the very backward States like Bihar,
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh compared to other States like Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Punjab, there is a vast difference when it comes to
development in various sectors.
It was in Rajasthan
that a Non-Government Organization, Mazdur Kisan Shakti Sangatan (MKSS)
lead by a committed social activist
Aruna Roy who earlier was part of Indian Civil Services, spread awareness among the people of the villages that they
should know whether the huge funds which were being made available to
Panchayats for the development of the villages were being properly used. The theme she underlined was that Tax revenue
is ‘our money, give us an account of how our money is being spent’. “Hamara paisa, hamara hisab” was the theme on
which she was able to quietly and systematically work in the villages of
Rajasthan. This triggered into a powerful movement which finally lead to the
enactment of Right to Information Act in 2005.
The Act was
indeed revolutionary. It was a diametrically opposite concept under which the
States had so far ruled and especially, from the colonial period. So far, there
was no method by which the citizens were taken in to confidence and informed
about what the government intended to do and how their tax funds were being
spent. The RTI proved to be a
game-changer as its enactment ensured public participation which lead to
overall awareness about how transparency can be brought out in the governmental
system and how government can be made accountable.
In 2010, Anna
Hazare, who has been active for more than three decades in the village of
Ralegan city in Maharastra, became the leader of very popular movement India
Against Corruption[IAC]. It grabbed the attention of the entire nation as if it
was a second movement for independence. It got an unpresented boost, thanks to
the 24/7 electronic media and the all embracing social media.
The growth of
the internet and especially the social media what is SCAM (Social, Cloud,
Analytical, Mobile) areas of development in communication today have virtually
placed tremendous powers in the hands of practically every citizen and voter so
that he/she can access information and also spread ideas and opinion on a scale
not only nationally but internationally and the impact of this have been very
dramatic especially in more backward place where physical infrastructure might
not have developed but the accessibility of mobile and information technology
have empowered people.
In a country
like ours, this continuous participation of the people in promoting integrity
and combating corruption, especially in the last decades have led to situations
that set political agendas and electoral issues. The 2014 elections were
largely shaped by the civil society agitations and media coverage of various
scams. It is, therefore, appropriate that this year’s theme of Vigilance
Awareness Week is focuses on public participation on promoting integrity and
combating corruption.
This can be a
broad overview. Our experience in the
last two decades and more has also shown us that there are multiple aspects of
public participation and one has to be clear that we do not do injustice to
anyone and we are fair. In fact, the
manner in which the anti-corruption movement and public participation have
evolved in the last few years, seem to highlight some negative dimensions. In
this context, a mention about role of media would be pertinent. The electronic
and print media play a large role in highlighting the issue of corruption and lack
of integrity in public life. Though there is not only the ostensible objective
of doing the public service but on certain occasion, there is also tremendous
commercial interest. In the case of the
electronic media, there is a continuous competition for getting higher
Television Rating Points. There is a
possibility that truth and objectivity get suppressed in the process. (PIB)
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