The former Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, has said that three of his party colleagues, who acted as whistle-blowers in the cash-for-votes scandal, should be hailed and not jailed.
In his latest blog entry, he referred to the 2005 report of the second Administrative Reforms Commission headed by Veerappa Moily “to prepare a detailed blueprint for revamping the public administration system” and said that it had talked about the need for legislation against corruption, including laws to protect whistleblowers. “The three MPs who made history in 2008 by laying bare this scam were Kulaste, a tribal, Bhagora and Argal, both [belonging to the] Scheduled Caste. Obviously those who approached them with cash presumed that these MPs would be vulnerable. Argal is a sitting Member and so his case has been referred by the Speaker to the Attorney General.”
Referring to the laws providing protection to whistle-blowers in the U.K., U.S., Australia and New Zealand, Mr. Advani argued that if adequate statutory protection was granted, the government might get substantial information about corruption.
