{Arun Jaitley**}
The Lok Pal appointment controversy refuses to die. The UPA government has framed rules under the Lok Pal Act. The rules prima facie run contrary to the Act. This is already a subject matter of a challenge before the Supreme Court.
On the eve of the announcement of the elections, the UPA government decided to rush through with the appointment of the Chairperson of the Lok Pal and its members. A Search Committee was hurriedly appointed. The Department of Personnel usurped the power of the Search Committee and prepared a short list of persons from whom the appointments would to be made. Everyone including some distinguished members of the Search Committee were uneasy about the procedure being followed. Two eminent members Fali S. Nariman and Justice K.T. Thomas resigned from the Search Committee citing this as the reason.
Today, there is no Search Committee with a full quorum. After the Search Committee is constituted, it will have to scrutinize all the names of the persons who could be recommended for appointment. Thereafter, the Search Committee would ratify the same and send them to the President.
Half the elections in the country have been completed. 26 days are remaining for the declaration of the results and the formation of a new government. Is it proper for the UPA, on the eve of its certain departure, to rush through with the appointment of the Lok Pal? Certainly not.
It would be a gross political impropriety and violation of the Code of Conduct, if the UPA would rush through its appointment at this stage. Besides this, the procedure is legally a suspect. Such unholy haste will destroy the credibility of the Lok Pal even before it is formed. This procedure should be stopped immediately. The effort of the Prime Minister’s office to convene a meeting of the Selection Committee for filling up the vacancies of the Search Committee should not be allowed to succeed.
While Dr.Manmohan Singh is now in a retirement mode, he must seriously introspect if this unholy haste in pushing a Lok Pal on the eve of certain departure is implemented, he will only be remembered as Prime Minister who subverted institutions at the behest of his party leadership. Even now if he tries to act with unholy haste, the entire democratic system of India is strong enough not to permit him to succeed. The Prime Minister has nothing to lose except some residual creditability.
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**Arun Jaitley
Leader of Opposition (Rajya Sabha )
*Disclaimer: The writer is a freelance journalist and the views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of INVC.
