India’s graft buster has his critics

‘There is no quick fix’:

INDIA: The rapid rise of India’s Anna Hazare from local activist to national anti-corruption saviour has not been without its critics, some of whom see serious flaws in both the man and his tactics.

The extensive and overwhelmingly supportive media coverage of Hazare’s campaign for tougher laws against official graft has largely drowned out the dissenters, but they have not been silenced altogether.

One high-profile critic is Nandan Nilekani, the co-founder of software giant Infosys Technologies who is currently heading a government project to provide biometric ID cards to India’s 1.2 billion people.

In an interview with the NDTV news channel, Nilekani said Hazare’s populist campaign was simplistic and “uni-dimensional” with its focus on forcing the government to strengthen an anti-corruption bill currently before parliament.

“I am not a great believer that if you pass a law, corruption will miraculously vanish,” Nilekani said, suggesting that Hazare had raised people’s expectations to unrealistic levels.

“If you really want to address corruption, it is a very multi-dimensional mosaic of things ... There is no quick fix. This requires hard work.”

Hazare’s protest is centred on the so-called “Lokpal Bill,” which would create the post of an ombudsman to monitor senior politicians and bureaucrats.

The 74-year-old activist strongly opposes the bill’s exclusion of the prime minister and top judicial officials from the ombudsman’s scrutiny and is currently staging a 15-day fast to demand that the legislation be re-drafted.

AFP