Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti too joined the activist Anna Hazare’s bandwagon and expressed concern “at the systematic demolition of institutions to curb corruption in administration and bringing transparency by the state government”.
Responding to Hazare’s campaign against corruption, Mufti said: “It has only brought home the fact that people would no longer stand by as mute spectators to the subversion of institutions and plunder of national wealth.”
The appeal by Hazare, Mehbooba said, should make the political class respond with urgency and purpose to the monster of corruption, unfortunately, becoming a dominant feature of public life.
“Jammu & Kashmir could not remain isolated from the happenings at the national level. It’s the time the state government did some thing better than just talking about rooting out corruption,” said Mufti.
The PDP president said while J-K face more serious problems on the front of political uncertainty, human rights crisis and developmental issues, the present coalition was busy patronizing and practicing corruption in all forms.
“Many public figures have been named in instances of corruption and misuse of official position but no action has been taken in spite of the Chief Minister’s occasional lip services,” claimed Mufti.
{{/usCountry}}“Many public figures have been named in instances of corruption and misuse of official position but no action has been taken in spite of the Chief Minister’s occasional lip services,” claimed Mufti.
{{/usCountry}}Mehbooba said J-K brought a legislation way back in 2003 in the shape of a State Accountability Commission (SAC), empowered to look into complaints against public figures including ministers and the Chief Minister. “This pioneering Act, which is state equivalent of a Lokpal and provides even to punish the guilty has, however, been made defunct by the present government,” she said.
For the last two years, Mufti said, the accountability commission is completely non existent after the last acting chairman completed his term. “The inability of the government to appoint a full commission not only is an indicator of the government’s inefficiency and ineptitude but it also underlines the moral weaknesses of the opportunistic coalition,” said the PDP president.