Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today reiterated that corruption can only be tackled by acting on multiple fronts and not through a single piece of legislation. Adding that his government was open to a debate on the Lokpal Bill,the Prime Minister sought to dispel the notion that corruption was related to economic liberalisation or reforms,pointing out that abolition of licensing has eliminated corruption in several areas. There are some who argue that corruption is the consequence of economic liberalisation and reforms. This is of course completely mistaken, he said. Addressing Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta at its golden jubilee celebrations,Singh dwelt at length on the issue,over which the government has been put on the mat by the Anna Hazare protest,and repeated that there was no magic wand to make corruption go away. Admitting the seriousness of the issue,he added: A comprehensive restructuring of government system and procedures. is necessary if we want to clean up the system. Clean it up we must. Speaking about the Lokpal debate,Singh said: The creation of the Lokpal as an institution will help. But it will not solve the problem. It needs to be supported by improvements in the pace and quality of judicial processes. Speedy trials and timely judgments will do a great deal to discourage corruption and dispel the notion that those who break the law can get away scot free, the Prime Minister said. He regretted that while all right-thinking people were agreed on the need to tackle all forms of corruption,the complexity of the task was not adequately appreciated. We have made it clear that all concerned individuals should convey their concerns on different aspects of the Lokpal Bill to their representatives in Parliament and to the Standing Committee (considering the Bill). The Standing Committee has the power to propose any amendment. We are open to a reasoned debate on all these issues, Singh said. He added that the government proposed to introduce a legislation modelled on laws in several countries governing procurement. The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law has recently modified its earlier model of procurement law. We can benefit from this latest model law and internalise international best practices, the Prime Minister said,urging state governments to do the same. Admitting that controversies had arisen because of inadequacies of regulatory institutions in the country,he said there was a need to strengthen the same. The Prime Minister also raised the issue of funding of elections and said reforms were needed to reduce the scope of generation of black money.
