Gul Panag - The Lokpal Bill -

Описание: This video was shot for the VotesUp Election Results special on May 23, 2019.

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Remember the Lokpal bill? The main reason Anna Hazare, and by extension Arvind Kejriwal led massive protests in Delhi, protesting the perceived wide-spread corruption in the UPA government? The issue who’s coat-tails the BJP rode into power back in 2014? The silver bullet that was supposed to cure india of its massive corruption?

Yeah, we don't remember it either. So let's jog your memory, but first things first - what does a Lokpal actually mean? Simple answer - its derived from the Sanskrit Lokpala, or caretaker of the people. The Lokpal, or ombudsman, was meant to be an anti-corruption body meant to protect the public interest.

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 was actually notified on January 1, 2014, to cover all public servants in and outside India, and provided for the setting up of a Lokpal at the centre and a Lokayukta at the state level.

The Lokpal was mandated to cover all public servants, including the prime minister, along with all donations over the amount of 10 lakhs. It also forced public servants to declare all assets in their own name, as well as those in the name of their spouse and children.

So far so good. Then came the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill in 2016 under the Modi government, undoing most of what the original act tried to achieve.

The amendment was introduced and passed by the BJP majority Lok Sabha in less than 24 hours. No debate. According to Anjali Bhardwaj of National Campaign for People’s Right to Information (NCPRI), the “the Lokpal law that was enacted after decades of debate and demand for an anti-corruption institution was dealt a severe blow as the amendment bill was introduced and passed by Parliament in less than 24 hours. The amendment bill was brought to Parliament without any public debate and the text of the bill was in fact not even made available in the public domain.”

Here’s the biggest dilution to the bill - the Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, passed on July 28 2016 has, and I quote from the NCPRI, “has done away with the statutory requirement of public servants to disclose the assets of their spouses and dependent children. The bill has also dispensed with the statutory requirement of public disclosure of these statements.”

Good job, guys.