"In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of
In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of"
Confucius
The deepening interest on Jan Lokpal (Citizen's ombudsman Bill) has no doubt captivated the Indian masses. A society burdened with a corrupt administrative heritage is now seeking redress. While differences continue to persist between the government and civil society, there is much awaited expectation among the general public that longs to put an end to corruption.
The government would obviously like to closely guard its citadels of power and keep its key officials ‘immune’ to any prosecution process. The Jan Lokpal on the other hand likes to see strong powers in its hands to take action against erring officials, bureaucrats, judiciary and politicians. But where this debate on exposing government officials to punitive measures would lead to is a bit uncertain. Let’s assume for a while that the Jan Lokpal, as proposed by the civil society, gets accepted and takes a formal structure. Will it be sufficient to put an end to corruption? What would be the ultimate outcome? In other words, what do we want to achieve by putting corruption to an end?
