Thaindian News

Kolkata, Jan 3 (IANS) Amid fiasco in Parliament over the Lokpal bill and strong criticism of some of its clauses on Lokayukta by different political parties, Nobel laureate, economist Amartya Sen Monday said that the anti-graft legislation is well thought out.

“I do not think personally the Lokpal bill, as it came, is not well thought out. I have not seen a well thought out Lokpal bill in fact… and maybe I have not seen,” Prof Sen told a gathering here on the occasion of screening of “Amartya Sen: A Life Reexamined”, a documentary on him.

He, however, said the real challenge would be to implement it in the democratic structure.

“But it is difficult to see how to integrate it without undermining the democratic structure and at the same time, making corruption easily to be dealt with by the judicial system. I think that is the real challenge,” he said.

Stating that corruption was a huge issue in the county, Sen, currently professor of economics and philosophy at the Harvard University, said, “The solution to any problem of this kind has to solve it in the Indian context within the structure of our rule of laws and constitution and our democratic political system.”

The Lokpal bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on the first day of the specially-extended three-day session of parliament, while the Rajya Sabha debated the legislation but adjourned without voting on it on the last day.

Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, a major constituent of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government, made a dramatic volte-face in the upper house of parliament after supporting the passage of the bill in the Lok Sabha.

The party said it will not compromise with the central government over the Lokayukta clause in the Lokpal bill as it “hurts the independence of states”.