PUNE, India, 24 March 2008 — Renowned social worker Anna Hazare yesterday called for legislation that will allow people to take inefficient government officials to court.
“In my view guilty bureaucrats should be dragged to court and punished,” Hazare said.
Speaking during a discussion on the Right to Information Act, Hazare said: “This is the next phase of the RTI Act revolution. If after an RTI application, there is clear evidence that a certain officer has not taken action, then he should be taken to court. An act to this effect needs to be passed to make bureaucrats answerable,” he said.
Hazare said: “In the first phase, we fought for passing the RTI Act. Now, in the second phase, we need to agitate for such an act that will make bureaucrats accountable. Another law that we want the government to frame is to make it mandatory for bureaucrats and politicians to declare their assets.”
There should also be a law on the right to recall inefficient municipal councilors, he said.
“This is the second and real fight for democracy. Elected representatives and bureaucrats are supposed to be public servants. But today the public has become the servant. This has to change, which is why the RTI Act should be used as a tool to fight injustice,” Hazare said.
