By IANS,
New Delhi : The Jan Lokpal Bill, drafted by former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde, lawyer Prashant Bhushan and Right to Information (RTI) activist Arvind Kejriwal, aims at giving ombudsmen more power to battle corruption in public life. Salient points of the bill, which is at the centre of the crusade spearheaded by reformer Anna Hazare and is an alternative to the government’s Lokpal Bill:
* An institution called Lokpal at the centre and Lokayukta in each state will be set up.
* Like the Supreme Court and the Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.
* Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore: Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. The trial should be completed in the next year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.
* The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.
* How will it help a common citizen: If the work of any citizen is not done in the prescribed time in any government office, the Lokpal will impose a financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.
* The members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.
* CVC (Central Vigilance Commission), departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation will be merged into the Lokpal. The Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
* It will be the duty of the Lokpal to provide protection to those who are being victimised for raising their voice against corruption.