Follow Hong Kong's lead to eliminate graft: Lok Satta

Lok Satta Party President Jayaprakash Narayan on Thursday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to enact a comprehensive anti-corruption law and create an Independent Anti-Corruption Commission (IACC) as in Hong Kong.

The IACC, formed in  in Hong Kong in 1974, reduced corruption within a few years, he stated.

In a letter to the Prime Minister which he shared with members of Parliament, Dr Narayan pointed that since there is palpable support among the public and political parties for rooting out corruption, he should create mechanisms to enforce public integrity and end corruption.

“Honesty is not merely a moral imperative; it is an economic necessity to accelerate and sustain high growth rates and eliminate poverty,” the LSP chief stated in his letter.

On the colossal corruption in the allocation of 2G spectrum, Dr Narayan said that apart from punishing culprits, the Government should undo the damage caused to the public exchequer and prevent future acts of such corruption. 

He wanted the Prime Minister to revoke the tainted 2G spectrum allocations under Section 23 and 24 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 so that Corporates which colluded with bribe takers and caused a colossal loss to the exchequer do not benefit from corruption.

The former IAS officer drew the Prime Minister’s attention to the Government of India canceling purchase of 197 helicopters worth $600 million from Eurocopter following a Central Vigilance Commission report in 1997.

Dr Narayan suggested imposition of a Windfall Profit Tax on all licensees who sold the spectrum or equity to ensure that the public exchequer retains abnormal profits made out of a vital public resource.

He proposed enactment of a law to make all contracts involving corruption, or loss to the exchequer void and unenforceable and another to impose a civil penalty of five times the loss sustained by the exchequer in any public procurement or transfer of natural resource.