AAP batted for Lok Pal bill, yet the post of Lokayukt is empty!

The year was 2011 when the Ramleela maidan protests rendered the UPA 2.0 Government toothless. The Aam Aadmi Party that emerged out of it, has been ruling Delhi for almost a decade now. The main agenda sounded, was ‘Jan Lokpal Bill’. But AAP does not remember to practice what they preach. A PIL has been moved to Delhi High Court for the appointment of Lokayukta. The post of Lokayukta has been lying vacant since December 2020.

Read More- Lokpal – A fanciful, stupid and undemocratic idea which must be done away with immediately

AAP’s Battle for ‘JanLokpal Bill’

 Now, called the Aam Aadmi Party, these politicians were born on  Anna Hazare’s platform. The central government was weak and these elitists took benefit of it. They convinced academia, the media, the civil society that India needs an extra-Constitutional body, to keep the executives in check. The bill was passed in 2011, from the Lok Sabha, in the Winter session of the Parliament. It was later enacted in 2013. The then UPA government succumbed to public pressure and tabled the bill. The utility of the bill is to date a topic of debate.

Janlokpal: Double Face of Kejriwal

Arvind Kejriwal and teak batted for Janlokpal, and The Lokayukts and Lokayuktas Act was passed in 2013. The bill was presented as a key to ending corruption. But the office of the ombudsman has been weakened over time. Today the office of ombudsman holds the burden of being toothless.

The Lokayukta’s post that is the state’s equivalent of Lokpal at the Centre is vacant in Delhi since December 2020. According to media reports,  the same Aam Aadmi Party promised independent and effective Lokayukta in 2013, 2015 and the 2020 Assembly Election manifesto.

The party that arose from Janlokpal Andolan has been targeted by not only the people of civil society but also by Opposition leaders.

Also Read- The Indian government needs to crack down on separatist outfits like Aam Aadmi Party

PIL in Delhi High Court to appoint Lokayukta

 BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay has moved a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court seeking directions to the Arvind Kejriwal Government to appoint the Lokayukta, the seat which has been lying vacant since December 2020. The PIL seeks to appoint the Lokayukta as the top priority.

According to the petitioner, due to the non-appointment of Lokayukta hundreds of complaints relating to corruption are pending.

He targeted the Aam Aadmi Party by saying, “Political parties are promising irrational freebies but not fulfilling essential promises. So, the danger to democracy and Indian republic  cannot be gainsaid.”

He has further requested the Court to analyse whether political parties are concerned about governance or do they cynically participate in the evisceration of the democratic electoral political process.

—-

The birth and rise of political parties to some extent depend on the issue they fought for. Major political parties of India have a history of rising and issues they have been associated with. The ruling BJP fought for the construction of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. To date, the party associates with the same cause apart from all the development issues.

The Aam Aadmi Party was born out of Jan Lokpal Andolan and it seems that the appointment of Lokayukta has been just an election jumla for Arvind Kejriwal to woo the people and win elections.