Lokpal bill can create a parallel bureaucracy: Katju

Press council chief justice Markandey Katju today said that implications of creating Lokpal were not rationally thought out and "some people thought that all problems of corruption will be solved by shouting slogans from Jantar Mantar or Ramlila Ground.

Press council chief justice Markandey Katju today urged Parliament to refer the Lokpal bill to a Standing Committee for further consideration so that a workable corruption investigation machinery can be created.

In its present state, the Bill can create a parallel bureaucracy that could turn into a "Frankenstein monster" and double or triple corruption, he said in a statement.

Katju, a retired Supreme Court judged, said that whether it was the Janlokpal Bill or the Sarkari Lokpal Bill, the legislation envisaged overseeing the work of some 55 lakh government employees in the country (of which 13 lacs are in the Railways alone), from Prime Minister to peon.

"Surely one person cannot enquire into the lakhs of complaints which are bound to pour in. It will require thousands of Lokpals, may be 50,000 of them to do this," he said.

He also added that all these officers will have to be given salaries and amenities like housing, offices and staff.

"And then where is the guarantee that these will not themselves become corrupt? In fact considering the low level of morality prevailing in India, we can be fairly certain that a large number of them will become blackmailers," Katju said.

Justice Katju said that implications of creating Lokpal were not rationally thought out and "some people thought that all problems of corruption will be solved by shouting 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' or 'Inquilaab Zindadbad' from Jantar Mantar or Ramlila Ground.

He said while Anna Hazare was an honest person, his ideas were not scientific.