Poll Analysis | Toothless Investigation Agencies
Corruption prevails in all sections of our society. To curb rampant corruption in India, the government should provide more teeth to the major anti-corruption institutions in the country.
Government bodies like Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) which often lack staff, struggle to protect themselves from political interferences. These institutions should be given constitutional authority for fighting corruption with competence.
At a time when political institutions are falling apart, constitutional mechanism such as judiciary, the Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG) and the Election Commission have been able to keep the system of checks and balances alive as they are independent from the intervention of the government in performing their duties.
“CBI is not independent of executive. CVC is another much feared, much maligned, but still a statutory body. If you really want them to deliver you must take the risk and courage to make them Constitutional bodies,” Vinod Rai, CAG said at a session on Inclusive Governance at the World Economic Forum.
Action taken by CBI and CVC can work more proficiently if given independence. He further adds “As these bodies are not independent and do not enjoy their autonomy, people called them a handmaid of government.”
We posted a poll asking people, “Should government make CBI and CVC independent bodies to enable them to function effectively?” Not surprisingly, 99 per cent of the voters agree with the opinion that these two primary investigative agencies should be given the autonomy to perform their duties without fear or interferences.
A respondent commenting on the poll writes, “CBI or CVC are nothing more than rubber stamp bodies of the government. If reports are to be believed, more than 9,000 cases that are registered by the CBI against corrupt officers are still pending in various courts.” Lokpal alone can't root out corruption if the other constitutional machines are wearying and becoming a victim of political influences, added the person.
Political parties should build a consensus to give constitutional protection to the CBI and the CVC to ensure greater transparency and work towards uprooting corruption in India. When the erstwhile Team Anna pitched the idea of granting autonomy to these agencies, the ruling authority declined the proposal. Ever since, there has been an upsurge of public-support demanding that the CBI and the CVC must not be handmaids of the government.