Saturday August 13, 2011 08:28:47 PM, IANS

New York: Donning paper "Anna caps", about 30-40 India Against Corruption (IAC) volunteers held a demonstration at the UN building here in support of social activist Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement.

The volunteers, including women and children, wearing white T-shirts with the slogan "I support India Against Corruption", shouted slogans, waved the Indian tricolour and tore copies of the Indian government's draft Lokpal bill, calling it a "joke" that protects the corrupt.

They also held banners and placards that read "Jail the corrupt", "Indian government's Lokpal bill is a joke", "Stop abuse of power", and "Lokpal is jokepal" at the demonstration at Dag Hammarskjold Plaza Park Friday.

In letter and spirit, the draft Lokpal bill is designed to give greater protection to the corrupt and leave out from its purview more than 98 percent of the public servants in the country, said Atul Kumar, one of the organisers of the demonstration.

It has greater penalties for a complainant who is unable to prove his complaint against a public servant than the public servant who has been proven to be corrupt, he said.

Calling it a violation of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) that India has ratified, the organisers said after signing the UNCAC treaty the government of India had once again decided to revise the Lokpal Bill.

But the question remains, "Does Lokpal Bill incorporate the national legislative requirements to enforce the norms of the UN convention against corruption"? they asked.
 

 

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