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Fight to curb corruption through vigilance
Social reformer Anna Hazare attended the first
meeting of the joint committee of ministers and civil
society leaders set up to draft the anti-graft Lokpal
Bill. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that
the bill will be introduced in the monsoon session
of parliament.
Hazare and the Lokpal drafting
GLOBAL PHENOMENON:
Corruption is anti-poor
N. Vittal
For us in India, corruption has been an age-old phenomenon. Chanakya is supposed to have said in the Arthashastra that there are 40 different methods by which public officials can indulge in corruption. "The Mahamatras are like fish. Does one know, when the fish is drinking water?" he is supposed to have said.
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• As we look ahead to the next 10 to 15 years,
what is it that we can hope for on the corruption
front?
• It is very easy to be pessimistic. The pessimist
can always argue that corruption has always
been with us like the poor and it is a global
phenomenon.
• Nevertheless, the fact is that while corruption is
a global phenomenon, we have seen countries
which were corrupt, reforming themselves and
getting the benefits of corruption-free, good
governance in our own lifetime. Singapore is a
classic example.
silver linings in the dark clouds
India can come out of the perennial trap of corruption and
move ahead. There are silver linings in the dark clouds of
corruption haunting us today. The Supreme Court judgment
which forced candidates in elections to declare their
criminal records, educational qualification and wealth while
filing their nomination. The degree of transparency sought
to be brought about by the Supreme Court is the first step
in our long journey to fight political corruption.
4
silver linings in the dark clouds
Use of information technology in the railway reservation
system gave enormous relief and benefited the travelling
public every day. The use of electronic voting machines in
the General Election has reduced significantly the scope for
corruption and malpractices in the election process. The
passing of the Right to Information Act is a healthy
development. These developments show that we can move
systematically towards a cleaner environment in public life.
5
Societal values
The degree of corruption in any organization or society depends
on three factors. The first is the individual sense of values. The
second is the value cherished by society and the third, of course,
is the system of governance.
Thanks to modernization and the tremendous impact of satellite
television and the media and the policy of liberalization, we are
seeing the vigorous growth of the consumer culture.
Lifestyle has become very important. What we can do is to at
least see that certain basic values like integrity, honesty and
compassion are inculcated.
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Certificate of good conduct & character
7
If we want India to become less corrupt, we must ensure that
moral values are inducted. For a set of social values, opinion
makers in society have to become role models. Every
professional association can uphold ethics and codes of
conduct, and thereby build role models and benchmarks for
guiding society. We must redesign our system of governance
to check corruption.
Adopting this strategy, we can definitely see India becoming a less
corrupt, progressive and developed country in the next 10 to 15
years.
Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti
Sanskrit
(Let us come together. Let
us enjoy together. Let our
strengths come together.
Let us move from
darkness to light. Let us
avoid the poison of
misunderstanding and
hatred. That way lies
progress.)
8
Sahana vavatu Sahanau
Bhunaktu, Saha Viryam
kara va vahai, Tejas vina
maditha vastu, Ma vidh
visha vahai
Om Shanti! Shanti! Shanti
We shall overcome wrong trends.
Quotes from
Yoga Vasishta,
Hind Swaraj and
Anna Hazare
Selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability,
openness, honesty and leadership by example —
should form the standards for holding public office.
five major players
We must redesign our
system of governance to
check corruption.
Corruption today is a
game in which five
major players are
involved. They are the
corrupt:
the corrupt politicians,
the corrupt
bureaucrats,
the corrupt
businessmen,
the corrupt NGOs and
criminals.
10
There is need to re-examine our culture, which has
normalised corruption in its many different forms. We in
India need to acknowledge the need for introspection on
our acceptance of the abuse of power.
The ―Seven Nolan Principles of Public Life‖ — selflessness,
integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and
leadership by example — should form the standards for
holding public office. There should be regular and
independent reviews of individual and organisational
functioning. The challenge is to inspire and change
individuals and to transcend and transform societal norms.
(K.S. Jacob, Professor of Psychiatry at the Christian
Medical College, Vellore.)
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Self-control, O Rama, is the best remedy for all physical and
mental ills. When there is self-control, even the food you eat
tastes better, else it tastes bitter. He who wears the armour
of self-control is not harmed by sorrow.
He who even while hearing, touching, seeing, smelling and
tasting what is regarded as pleasant and unpleasant, is
neither elated nor depressed — he is self-controlled.
He who looks upon all beings with equal vision, having
brought under control the sensations of pleasure and pain,
is self-controlled. He who though living amongst all is
unaffected by them, neither feels elated nor hates, even as
one is during sleep — he is self-controlled.
15
Inquiry (the second gate-keeper to liberation,
Vichara) should be undertaken by an intelligence
that has been purified by a close study of the
scripture, and this inquiry should be unbroken.
By such inquiry the intelligence becomes
keen and is able to realize the supreme;
hence inquiry alone is the best remedy for
the long-lasting illness known as the life cycle
world (samsara.)
Means of liberation
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Satsanga (company of wise, holy and
enlightened persons) is yet another gatekeeper
to liberation. Satsanga enlarges one‘s
intelligence, destroys one‘s ignorance and
one‘s psychological distress. Whatever be the
cost, however difficult it may be, whatever
obstacles may stand in its way, satsanga should
never be neglected. For, satsanga alone is
one‘s light on the path of life. Satsanga is
indeed superior to all other forms of religious
practices like charity, austerity, pilgrimages and
the performance of religious rites. 20
TYPOLOGY OF CORRUPTION,
Analyse, Act and realize swaraj
Gandhi & hind swaraj
Anna Hazare & rural self-help
21
Corruption is defined as the use of public
office for private gains
Scales of corruption can be Grand, Middling or Petty and payment of bribes can be due to collusion between the bribe taker and the bribe giver, due to coercion or even anticipatory.
Existence of corruption implies that there are corrupt people, there are also corrupt practices, and there is a corrupt system.
Therefore, all the three have to be fought simultaneously to eliminate the vice of corruption.
22
The concept of Citizen Charters has been introduced to
improve the quality of public services. It ensures
accountability, transparency and quality of services provided
by various government organistions. It enables citizens to
avail of services with minimum hassle, in reasonable time,
and at a minimum cost.
Effective implementation of Citizens Charters will go a long
way in controlling corruption. The Government of India has
launched an ambitious programme for formulation and
implementation of Citizens Charters in all government
departments. 23
"We are responsible for what
we are, and whatever we wish
ourselves to be, we have the
power to make ourselves. If
what we are now has been the
result of our own past actions,
it certainly follows that
whatever we wish to be in
future can be produced by our
present actions; so we have to
know how to act. "
-- Swami Vivekananda
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Anna Hazare says
Over every huge tree that we see over ground, there always is
a seed that had submerged itself into the darkness of the
soil.
Ban on consumption and sale of alcohol lays the foundation
of rural development.
It is impossible to change the village without transforming
the individual. Similarly it is impossible to transform the
country without changing its villages.
If villages are to develop, politics have to be kept out.
Education without spirituality cannot help development.
In the process of rural development, social and economic
development should go hand in hand
25
Anna Hazare says
• The work of social transformation is neither
easy nor impossible.
The ultimate goal of all politics and social
work should be the upliftment of society and
of the nation.
Educational institutions are not enough to
make good citizens, every home should
become an educational center.
Indulgence causes disease whereas
sacrifice leads to accomplishment.
26
Selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability,
openness, honesty and leadership by example
27
… What we mean and want through
Poorna Swaraj ……is an awakening
among the masses, a knowledge
among them of their true interest
and ability to serve that interest
against the whole world, …..
harmony, freedom from aggression
from within or without, and a
progressive improvement in the
economic condition of the masses…
(Young India, 18-6-1931, p. 147)
The public can call its servants to account –M K Gandhi
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Mahatma Gandhi: (60 years ago)
Corruption will be out one
day, however much one
may try to conceal it.
The public can, as its right
and duty, in very case of
justifiable suspicion, call
its servants to strict
account, dismiss them,
sue them in a
law court or appoint an
arbitrator or inspector
to scrutinize their
conduct, as it likes.
(civil society asks 4
Ombudsman)
29
• The pilgrimage to Swaraj is a painful climb. It
requires attention to details.
• It means vast organizing ability, it means
penetration into the villages solely for the service
of the villagers.
• In other words, it means national education, i.e.,
education of the masses.
• It means an awakening of national consciousness
among the masses.
• It will not spring like the magician‘s mango.
• It will grow almost unperceived like the banyan
tree.
• A bloody revolution will never perform the trick.
• Haste here is most certainly waste. 30
Hind Swaraj: Indian Home Rule -
M. K. Gandhi (1909) But whether India may be ripe for it or not, it is best for
Indians to study the seminal book which contains the
ultimate logical conclusion of the acceptance of the twin
principles of Truth and Non-violence, and then decide
whether these principles should be accepted.
“Perhaps there are no other people in the world who show
so much in their characters the advantageous effects of
their own civilisation. They are shrewd in business, acute
in reasoning, thrifty, religious, sober, charitable, obedient
to parents, referential to old age, amiable, law abiding,
compassionate towards the helpless, and patient under
suffering.” That observation was made in 1883 __Why are
we „corrupt‟ today?
Hind Swaraj and Mohandas Gandhi
Social reform, self-purification and politics were
inseparable in Gandhi‘s view; the discourse of
self-purification and social reform had to become a
public, mass debate, it had to be articulated within
the political realm. An attempt to ―see beauty‖ in
voluntary simplicity, voluntary poverty and
slowness; it is the enunciation, in other words of a
different aesthetic that rejects the narrative of
progress and modernity.
Hind Swaraj, Gandhi seems to be suggesting, should be
read as a poem and Gandhi as a poet, in the great tradition
of classical dramas.
32
The Gandhian intervention was not merely an
intervention in the specifics of the Indian political
conjuncture at different critical moments; it was an
intervention through which a certain ―elemental
experience‖ of epic proportions spoke out. It may
have found its voices through the persons of a
Thoreau, Ruskin or a Tolstoy, but it was the
Gandhian / Hazare intervention that provided them
the modality of manifestation and expression. 33
voluntary simplicity, voluntary poverty…
I do not think any one can beat me in my passion
for guarding and expending public money like a
miser. The reason is: Public money belongs to the
poor public of India than whom there is none
poorer on earth.
- Young India: April 16, 1931
A public fund becomes public property and
therefore every member of the public is entitled to
know in detail the administration of such funds.
- Young India: Feb. 24,1927
34
This repeated desire to reconnect with nature – of which
Human beings are but one part – underlines what is probably
the most fundamental part of Gandhi‘s critique of modernity.
Through this he seems to be repeatedly telling us that we have
strayed too far from ―home‖.
In staging this philosophical encounter between modernity (or
―modern‖ or ―industrial civilisation‖, as he calls it) and its
other/s, Gandhi makes it very clear that it is not the colonised
/ globalised who suffers from some ―lack‖ but rather, the
colonising /globalising and ‗imperialist‘ power that is afflicted.
With the disease that is modern civilisation, [Globalisation?] he
also makes it clear that this modern civilisation has not merely
colonised others outside its domain, it has also destroyed
forms of life within its domain.
35
Through Truth And Nonviolence
If we wish to achieve Swaraj through truth and non-
violence, gradual but steady building-up from the
bottom upwards by constructive effort is the only
way.
This rules out the deliberate creation of an
anarchical state for the overthrow of the
established order in the hope of throwing up from
within a dictator who would rule with a rod of iron
and produce order out disorder.
36
Genius Of Our Civilization
My Swaraj is to keep intact the genius of our civilization. I want to write many new thing but they must be all written on the Indian slate. I would gladly borrow from the West when I can return the amount with decent interest.
If Swaraj was not meant to civilize us, and to purify and stabilize our civilization, it would be worth nothing. The very essence of our civilization is that we give a paramount place to morality in all our affairs, public or private.
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Gandhi: about education
By education I mean an all-round drawing out of the best in
the child and man- body, mind and spirit.
Literacy is not the end of education nor even the beginning.
It is only one of the means whereby man and woman can
be educated.
Literacy in itself is no education. I would therefore begin
the child's education by teaching it a useful handicraft and
enabling it to produce from the moment it begins its
training.....
My NAI TALIM is not dependent on money. The running
expenses should come from the educational process itself.
Whatever the criticisms may be, I know that the only
education is that which is 'self-supporting'.
38
THE ANCIENT aphorism, 'Education is that which
liberates' is as true today as it was before.
Education here does not mean mere spiritual
knowledge, nor does liberation signify only
spiritual liberation after death. Knowledge
includes all training that is useful for the service
of mankind and liberation means freedom from
all manner of servitude even in the present life.
Servitude is of two kinds: slavery to domination
from outside and to one's own artificial needs.
The knowledge acquired in the pursuit of this
ideal alone constitutes true study.
39
We get what Government we deserve. When we
improve, the Government is also bound to
improve. Only when we improve can we attain
swaraj. - Young India: Nov. 10, 1920.
The swaraj that I dream of will be a possibility
when the nation is free to make its choice of both
good and evil and not be good at the dictation of
an irresponsible, insolent and godless
bureaucracy. - Young India: Dec. 08, 1920.
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Estrangement, disenchantment and a certain loss of
connection with humanity‘s fundamental relationship to
nature seem to be constant concerns in Gandhi‘s
dramatisation of the modern predicament. Ahimsa or non-
violence is therefore often explicated by him, as a way of re-
establishing that connection.
It seems that his hope was that a big mass ―nationalist‖
movement of peasants and artisans would make it possible
to reverse the processes of mechanisation and factory
production, as more and more people could be inspired to
produce for their own consumption.
42
• An analysis was conducted by Transparency India in
2007 to identify possible gaps between the UN
Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the legal
and institutional framework in place in the country.
• The report confirmed the good quality of the legal
framework against corruption in India, with existing
legislation in line with most of the requirements of the
UNCAC. The largest – and almost only - substantial
gap was identified by the report in the area of
whistleblower protection.
• Law enforcement, however, remains weak, suggesting
a lack of political will to effectively address corruption
challenges in the country.
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Today policy failure is writ large and
governance is failing all around. This is due to
the growth in size of the black economy from
about 4 % of GDP in 1955-56 to the present
50 %.
The implication is that illegality in the country
has grown and touches almost every activity.
46
Is honesty divisible among financial social
and political matters? Can one be financially
be honest but dishonest in other spheres? Is
it honesty when when scams are allowed to
take place but one personally does not take
any money? Honesty is not just individual but
systemic and if the number of scams grow in
size and numbers, can the head of the
government escape responsibility given the
huge social and political consequences?
47
…..a break … READ some fiction
• Claims and allegations
• Allegations ?
• Money laundering
• Convictions and court-cases
• Enquiry, letter rogatory ?
• found empty !
fictional account
TO ELIMINATE BLACK ECONOMY NOW
Money laundering story from an unknown country
of a distant planet. This fictional account
illustrates possibilities of tax havens and
generation of black money that harms the
country‘s economy. Tackling this needs services
of bunch of Sherlock Holmeses.
fictional account
Story from a country of a distant planet……
49 fictional account
50 fictional account
51 fictional account
52 fictional account
53 fictional account
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National Magazine
From the publishers
of fiction
ECONOMIC OFFENCES
Dealing with dirty money
The alarming growth in the volume of money-
laundering and its links with other crimes, including
the illicit trade in narcotics, have made it a major
planet level problem. [Story Ends]
Intelligentsia's Initiative
A group of 14 citizens addressed an ‗Open letter' to political leaders
expressing alarm at the ‗governance deficit; in government, business
and institutions. Among several urgent steps needed, said the group',
the most critical was to make the investigation agencies and law-
enforcing bodies independent of the Executive'. The group included
grey eminences such as Mr Azim Premji, Mr Bimal Jalan, Mr Deepak
Parekh, Mr N. Vaghul, Justices Mr Virava and Mr Sri Krishna, Mr
Malegam and Professor A.Vaidyanathan.
Agencies such as the Central Bureau of Investigations, Enforcement
Directorate and the Indian Revenue Service are all under the control of
government departments.
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Again Gandhi in ‘Hind Swaraj’
57
What do you think could have been the
intention of those farseeing ancestors of ours
who established Setubandha (Rameshwar) in
the South, Jagannath in the East and Hardwar
in the North as places of pilgrimage? They
knew that worship of God could have been
performed just as well at home. They taught
us that those whose hearts were aglow with
righteousness had the Ganges in their own
homes
Gandhi on national spirit, oneness 58
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But they saw that India was one undivided
land so made by nature. They, therefore,
argued that it must be one nation. Arguing
thus, they established holy places in various
parts of India, and fired the people with an
idea of nationality in manner unknown in
other parts of the world.
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It was a charge against India that her people are so
uncivilized, ignorant and stolid, that it was not possible
to induce them to adopt any changes. It is a charge
really against our merit. What we have tested and
found true on the anvil of experience, we dare not
change. Many thrust their advice upon India, and she
remains steady. This is her beauty: it is the sheet-
anchor of our hope. Civilization is that mode of conduct
which points out to man the path of duty. Performance
of duty and observance of morality are convertible
terms. To observe morality is to attain mastery over our
mind and our passions. So doing, we know ourselves.
The Gujarati equivalent for civilization means ―good
conduct‖.
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If this definition be correct, then India, as so many
writers have shown, has nothing to learn from
anybody else, and this is as it should be. We notice
that the mind is a restless bird; the more it gets the
more it wants, and still remains unsatisfied. The more
we indulge our passions the more unbridled they
become. Our ancestors, therefore set a limit to our
indulgences. They saw that happiness was largely a
mental condition. A man is not necessarily happy
because he is rich, or unhappy because he is poor.
The rich are often seen to be unhappy, the poor to be
happy. Millions will always remain poor. Observing all
this, our ancestors dissuaded us from luxuries and
pleasures.
62
The Indian civilization, as described by me, has been
so described by its votaries. In no part of the world,
and under no civilization, have all men attained
perfection. The tendency of the Indian civilization is to
elevate the moral being, that of the Western
civilization is to propagate material prosperity. The
latter is godless, the former is based on a belief in
God. So understanding and so believing, it behoves
every lover of India to cling to the old Indian civilization
even as a child clings to the mother‘s breast.
__Mohandas Gandhi, in Hind Swaraj
63
Because the sons of India were found wanting, its
civilization has been placed in jeopardy. But its
strength is to be seen in its ability to survive the
shock. Moreover, the whole of India is not touched.
Those alone who have been affected by Western
civilization have become enslaved. We measure the
universe by our own miserable foot-rule. When we are
slaves, we think that the whole universe is enslaved.
Because we are in an abject condition, we think that
the whole of India is in that condition. As a matter of
fact, it is not so, yet it is as well to impute our slavery
to the whole of India. But if we bear in mind the
above fact, we can see that if we become free, India
is free.
64
It is Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves.
It is, therefore, in the palm of our hands. Do not
consider this Swaraj to be like a dream. There
is no idea of sitting still. The Swaraj that I wish
to picture is such that, after we have once
realized it, we shall endeavour to the end of our
life-time to persuade others to do likewise. But
such Swaraj has to be experienced, by each
one for himself. One drowning man will never
save another. Slaves ourselves, it would be a
mere pretension to think of freeing others.
65
Passive resistance is an all-sided sword, it
can be used anyhow; it blesses him who
uses it and him against whom it is used.
Without drawing a drop of blood it
produces far-reaching results.
It never rusts and cannot be stolen.
Competition between passive resisters
does not exhaust. The sword of passive
resistance does not require a scabbard.
66
1. Real home-rule is self-rule or self-control.
2. The way to it is passive resistance:
that is soul-force or love-force.
3. In order to exert this force, Swadeshi in every sense
is necessary.
4. What we want to do should be done, not because
we object to the English / Govt. or because we
want to retaliate but because it is our duty to do so.
In the midst
of
alleged corruptions,
an agitation for Lokpal bill in India
Social Activism and rural leadership of
Anna Hazare
68
Corruption is a two-way street. For every bribe taker,
there is a bribe giver. While the debate on
corruption in our country has focused on the
demand side of corruption, i.e., on public servants
and politicians who demand bribes, there has been
a thundering silence on the supply side of
corruption, i.e., around the business community
which bribes the public servants and politicians. It
is therefore interesting to note the business
community‘s focus on the issue of ethics in
business. Recently the CII organised a session on
ethics and corporate integrity.
Anna Hazare Kisan Baburao Hazare, popularly known
as Anna Hazare (June 15, 1938), is an
Indian social activist. who is especially
recognized for his contribution to the
development of Ralegan Siddhi, a
village in Ahmednagar district,
Maharashtra, India and his efforts for
establishing it as a model village, for
which he was awarded the Padma
Bhushan by Govt. of India, in 1992. He
is also one of the leading figures who
championed the cause of Right to
Information Act in India. He is known
for his crusade towards fighting
corruption in public offices
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People understand their environment much better
than anybody else from outside. Hence, people's
participation is an essential element and pre-
requisite for, any development initiative to be
successful. Hence, it needs to be designed into
development programs from the beginning.
The initiatives to mobilize people should be
people/community and place specific. Any kind of
generalization may be harmful.
•
• The weak, poor and women need special
consideration and concessions for their fuller
participation.
AGITATION FOR LOKPAL : April-2011
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The government's decision ended the 97-hour fast
here by veteran reformer Anna Hazare -- an
unparalleled people's movement against corruption in
recent years.
"India is recognizing the issue in time for it to be dealt
with. This is in a way better than what the situation is
in many developed and emerging economies, which
seem to be in denial," _ Muthuraman, president-
designate of the Confederation of Indian Industry .
added.
The central government Saturday issued a gazette
notification constituting a joint committee headed by
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to draft an anti-
graft Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill.
77
Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde, Prashant
Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal, this Bill has been
refined on the basis of feedback received from
public on website and after series of public
consultations. It has also been vetted by and is
supported by Shanti Bhushan, J M Lyngdoh,
Kiran Bedi, Anna Hazare.
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The central government issued a gazette
notification constituting a joint committee
headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
to draft an anti-graft Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill.
Excerpts from the notification:
"Government of India here by constitutes a
joint drafting committee to prepare a draft of
the Lokpal Bill. The joint drafting committee
will consist of five nominee ministers of the
Government of India and five nominees of
Anna Hazare, including himself.
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The Jan Lokpal crafted initially by Kejriwal, Hegde, Bhushan
and refined by countless citizens is an effective deterrent and
a necessary step to eliminate corruption.
The bill should be further refined and passed within the next
30-60 days even if it means convening an extraordinary
session of parliament ―What does we are tackling corruption
on a war footing mean‖ .
89
"I believe the meeting will be of an introductory nature," the senior lawyer
said. Besides Hazare and Bhushan, the civil society has three more
representatives on the panel - former law minister Shanti Bhushan, who is
also the co-chairman of the committee, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and
former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde. The 10-member committee is
headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The other ministerial
members on the panel are Home Minister P. Chidambaram, Law Minister
Veerappa Moily, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and
Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed.
The government agreed to include the civil society leaders in the committee
after Hazare went on indefinite fast in Delhi, which was called off after 97
hours April 9.
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