DEHRADUN, 30 September 2004 — Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday he was ready to put his office under the scrutiny of an ombudsman to stamp out corruption.
A former economist for the World Bank, Manmohan said there was consensus among India’s political establishment on a long-debated proposal for an anti-graft ombudsman with the power to investigate top officials. “There is also a broad agreement that public functionaries such as members of Parliament and ministers, including the prime minister, should be brought within the purview of the legislation,” he told a judicial conference in the northern town of Dehradun.
The prime minister also said the government would look at ways to revamp the civil service and would soon set up a commission on administrative reforms. Transparency International, a global corruption watchdog, in its 2003 report ranked India 83rd worst among 133 corrupt countries.
Manmohan said the absence of a “quasi-judicial body” acting as a “watchdog” at the center was negatively affecting the working of similar bodies at the state level.
“The need for this institution is therefore much more urgent at present than ever before,” he said.
Though Manmohan referred to a broad consensus on bringing the office of prime minister under the purview of ombudsman he did not mention the issue of bringing the president’s office under the ombudsman. While addressing the conference on Monday, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had specifically called for bringing the office of the president and all other government offices under the ombudsman bill.
Asserting the usefulness of this institution (ombudsman) at the state level, Manmohan said that the United Progressive Alliance government has got the mandate on the Common Minimum Program to enact the ombudsman bill. “In India, this institution has been found useful at the state level. We have to replicate it at the national level by enacting appropriate legislation,” he said.
Manmohan said: “... before granting constitutional status, there is a need to objectively assess the performance of these institutions. Besides, the selection process of ombudsman has to be made sufficiently robust and impartial to inspire confidence among the people. Ombudsmen also need to evolve procedures for carrying on business, which should be systematic, speedy and effective. This will ensure that citizens not only get justice but also see justice being done in a reasonable time frame.”
First introduced in 1966, the ombudsman bill at the center was passed in 1968 but could not become law because the Lok Sabha’s term ended the same year.
Three attempts were made between 1971 and 1985 to pass the bill.
Though the Congress has said that it will try and bring the bill during the coming winter session of Parliament chances of it making much progress are limited as privately most parliamentarians are opposed to it.
