Down with corruption

Comment:the times of india
Dec 21, 2010, 12.00am IST

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As tough rhetoric, it was music to the public's ears. At the Congress plenary session, Sonia Gandhi demanded zero tolerance for corruption, listing steps needed to fight it. Besides fast-tracking of graft cases involving public servants, she called for transparency in public procurements and contracts, relinquishing of discretionary powers and an "open, competitive system" for exploitation of natural resources. Along with her advocacy of state funding of polls and protection for whistle-blowers, the action plan seems fairly comprehensive. But can it work if the Congress maintains its rather glib distinction between "party" and "government"? For the Manmohan Singh-led regime to execute the brief, Congress luminaries must act less like its periodic conscience-keepers than members of a ruling party concerned with the nuts and bolts of governance. 

As party boss and UPA chairperson, Gandhi is herself uniquely positioned to suggest how to deal firmly with obstructionist party members and allies. To tackle corruption expeditiously, booking the big fish along with the small is imperative. This hasn't been effectively demonstrated so far. Again, Gandhi is spot on in saying that discretionary powers, especially in land allotment, must be curbed. But if the Congress has lessons for BJP-led Karnataka here, it must do much more than it has to undo the politician-babu-land mafia nexus in Adarsh-hit Maharashtra. Aligning land acquisition to market forces is a related need, yet ally Trinamool has stymied a Bill to facilitate this and the Congress has let things drift. The call for competition in the mining sector is welcome. What isn't is the recent ministerial nod to a first-come-first-served principle for awarding large area prospecting licences, based on a spurious distinction between exploration and extraction. This, despite the 2G imbroglio showing that competitive bidding is best for transparency. Clearly, the Congress must go beyond statements of intent to spearhead a systemic clean-up. Delivery is the key. 

(the times of india)

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