CORRUPTION

                  Lack of political will?

Corruption has come to be viewed as a serious factor affecting political, social and economic lives in both developed and developing countries. It is an act that is known to everyone, yet not easily tamed; obvious to the eye, yet not easily defined.

World Bank defines corruption as the “use of public office for private gain”. No doubt corruption is linked with power and authority; more so with the unearthing of the recent scams, corruption has become synonymous with power and authority. However this is serious undermining of the menace of corruption and moving away from the core of the issue. Misuse of power and authority is just a small part of corruption.

Corruption basically is compromising one’s morality and integrity to gain an advantage over the other person. One may say that corruption is a part of every individual, every society, every organization, every administration or government and thus justify the inaction. While this is not far from the truth, the problem lies in the fact that an act of corruption always happen at the expense of the other person or group. A gain of one is the loss of another resulting in a vicious cycle of corruption.

Corruption takes many forms and the use of public office for private gain affects the public exchequer the most. This facet of corruption assumes a special focus as it diverts the funds meant for public good.

The recent events in Nagaland involving MLAs are very unfortunate, the fact that one of them even feigned ignorance made it worse. Every Naga testifies to the fact that Nagaland is one of the least developed states in India; lack of money is no longer an excuse now. One thing which has always surprised me is the lack of an Anti-Corruption organization, an organization empowered to book the culprits and produce them before the High Court.

There is a need to release the CBI from the control of the government and bifurcate it into two parts; one dealing with corruption and the other with organized crimes. Lokpal should be given the power to make suo moto inquiries and be made responsible to the Parliament in the line of Comptroller and Auditor General of India(CAG). While Lokpal will be an important step towards checking the menace of corruption, judicial and electoral reforms are a must to make it double-edged.

While many reforms are expected in the Centre, the question of whether the Nagaland government will be ready to implement the reforms still remain unanswered. Nagas root for a people friendly Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, an autonomous CBI but is there a political will to embrace the same? Will the Nagaland government give a nod to CBI probe? Will it establish a Lokayukta in the state if it is passed by the Parliament? Nagaland today need a strong opposition party, a vibrant public and a political will that is citizen centric.