Karnataka Lokayukta N. Santosh Hegde, who is a civil society member on the Lokpal Bill drafting committee, on Saturday said he had suggested to social activist Anna Hazare to undertake a nationwide tour to mobilise support for the Bill instead of going on fast from August 16.
He was speaking to journalists after inaugurating the golden jubilee State-level conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India here.
In a letter to Mr. Hazare, Mr. Hegde said he would also join such a countrywide campaign against corruption once he demitted the office of Lokayukta in August.
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If Mr. Hazare decided to go ahead with the hunger strike, Mr. Hegde said he would extend his support.
Fight to continue
Though the talks on the Bill appeared to have failed, Mr. Hegde said he would not quit the panel and declared that the fight against corruption would continue. There was no truth in the rumours that he would quit the committee following differences among committee members.
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The Lokayukta said he doubted the seriousness of the Bill, which the Central government would anyway bring in. The government did not want the Prime Minister to come within the purview of the Lokpal or the judiciary. With both sides differing considerably, he was apprehensive of the outcome of the exercise against corruption.
Role of CAs
Zero tolerance to corruption had transformed into tolerance to zeroes, Mr. Hegde said. “Corruption in the corporate world is either because the company has gone out of control or has failed to work within the strict norms set by chartered accountants,” he said, reminding the chartered accountants of the importance of their profession in safeguarding against corruption.
The conference witnessed participation from chartered accountants from across the State to discuss developments in the field of taxation. “Speakers from across the country are sharing their professional expertise” said Venkatesh Babu N.R., Chairman of the Bangalore Branch of the Southern India Regional Council (SIRC) of the ICAI.