ETHICS – PROBITY IN PUBLIC LIFE
Integrity and probity in public life are the standards that society expects those elected or appointed to public office to observe and maintain in the conduct of the public affairs to which they have been entrusted. These standards are what safeguard the nation from corruption by politicians and public officials who have been given almost unrestricted access to public resources together with the power to take decisions that impact on the lives of everyone and the nation as a whole. It follows that those in positions of power can use these positions to take decisions that are solely in the public interest or they can use them to benefit themselves, friends, and in the case of politicians, their party supporters to the exclusion of others. There is mounting evidence, documented by Transparency International among others, that given their privileged position those in power can and sometimes do inflict immense, often irreparable, damage on the country by acting in any other than in the public interest. This, essentially, is the rationale for the legislative and other measures that countries take to govern the behaviour of their public officials.
The absence of integrity and probity in public life is manifested in corruption which is a worldwide phenomenon. But its impact is strongest and most pervasive in small states that already suffer from all the known disadvantages that characterise smallness such as unfavourable economies of scale, high per capita cost of government, remoteness, and distance from large markets and centres of large populations among others. In addition to all these, small States also tend to suffer from ineffective parliamentary oversight, weak and undeveloped systems of checks and balances like a strong and independent media as well as civil society groups with the capacity to investigate, challenge and call to account those in positions of power. Leaders who are corrupt will exploit these weaknesses to the fullest to enrich themselves and those closest to them at the expense of the country.
The debilitating effects of corruption are well documented. For example for Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole the Inter-American Development Bank has estimated that on average some 10% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is lost to corruption annually. In some countries this proportion has been estimated to be as high as one quarter (1/4). It is no wonder that both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have identified corruption as one of the main obstacles to development. It stultifies creativity, inventiveness and enterprise in a people, and puts a brake on the growth of democracy, all of which are essential conditions for development.
It cannot be assumed that all parliamentarians and other people in public life engage in corrupt practices; far from it. The vast majority of public officials both elected and appointed give sterling and dedicated service to the country. They keep alive and constantly seek to enrich the best traditions of selfless public service. These officials need to be encouraged and their contributions recognised. The best way to give such encouragement and recognition is to call to account those who will not play by the rules.
Rooting out corruption is not an easy task. It will not happen in one big swoop nor will it happen by legislation alone. It needs a national objective in which all the citizens, agencies and institutions must play their part. This means that Government, political parties, the private sector, civil society, religious leaders and, most importantly, the media need to work together to ensure that nothing but the highest standard of behaviour, accountability and transparency are tolerated in governance across all aspects of society. There needs to be something like a national crusade dedicated to the maintenance of a culture of decency and integrity in public life.
In India Ethics and Morality is inseparable since ancient times. This ethical and moral legacy was inherited by our national leaders during freedom struggle; they demonstrated a high degree of probity and honesty in public life. Mahatma Gandhi not only preached morality in public life but also practiced it. He believed that politics without morality is a thing to be avoided.
However, in recent years there is a general feeling that all is not well with the Indian political system which is functioning under great strain. Concerns are being expressed over the general decline of values in public life. Recent trends in politics, however, appear to have created an impression as if; the capacity of our democratic system to ensure probity in public life is increasingly going down. Such a situation does not augur well for the future of democracy and needs to be arrested immediately.
Members of Parliament as people’s representatives are looked at by the people as their role models and the ones who are guiding their destiny, have, therefore, to be beyond the realm of any kind of suspicion. There should be the ideological base and the spirit of service activated in them. The probity in the entire system should be ensured.
There may be many ways for ensuring probity in public life, but a self-disciplining mechanism, appears to be the best in an institution like Parliament.
Shri N.N. Vohra Committee:
On 9 July, 1993 this committee was appointed to examine charges of corruption involving politicians and general perception of criminalization of politics. In 1995, report was laid before both Houses of Parliament.
The Committee in its report, inter alia, pointed out that “the nexus between the criminal gangs, police, bureaucracy and politicians” had come out clearly in various parts of the country. The existing criminal justice system, which was essentially designed to deal with the individual offences/crimes, was unable to deal with the activities of the mafia; the provisions of law in regard to economic offences were found to be weak and there were insurmountable legal difficulties in attaching/confiscating the properties acquired through mafia activities.
The report suggested setting up of a nodal agency under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, to be handled directly by the Union Home Secretary, who would be assisted by one or more selected officers of the Ministry for the collation and compilation of all information received from different intelligence agencies.
All-Party Meeting, 1995 declaration of assets and liabilities by the Members of Parliament and Ministers:
1. Setting up of a Parliamentary Committee on Ethics as distinct from the Committee of Privileges which would act as a guardian on the activities of members of Parliament.
2. Adoption of a Code of Conduct at the level of political parties to ensure a cleaner public life, e.g., not to give party tickets to persons having criminal record.
3. All political parties should have open audited accounts which must be published annually.
4. Giving more teeth to the Nodal Group set up as a consequence of the recommendations of the Vohra Committee Report.
5. Changes in the legal system, simplification of the procedure and dispensation of quick justice.
Birth of Ethics Committee:
General Purposes Committee of Rajya Sabha in 1997 authorized the Chairman, Rajya Sabha to constitute an Ethics Committee with a mandate to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of its members. Thus, the Ethics Committee, Rajya Sabha, the first such Committee by any legislature in India was constituted by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha on 4 March 1997, to oversee the moral and ethical conduct of the Members and to examine the cases referred to it with reference to ethical and other misconduct of Members. It was provided that in all respects of procedure and other matters, the rules applicable to the Committee of Privileges shall apply to the Ethics Committee with such variations and modifications as the Chairman, Rajya Sabha may, from time to time, make.
Ethics Committee, Rajya Sabha consists of ten members, including its Chairman, who are nominated by the Chairman, Rajya Sabha. Chairman of the Committee is from the largest party in the House. Other members normally are the Leaders, Deputy Leaders/Chief Whips of their parties/groups in Rajya Sabha
Criminalization of politics and corruption Over the last 10 years, crime and money have been playing a larger than ever role in Indian electoral politics, reflecting a marked rise in the wealth of many winning candidates with criminal records.
Of the 62,847 Parliamentary and Assembly candidates since 2004, a good 11,063 (18 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves. Of these, 8 per cent have declared ‘serious’ criminal cases, says an analysis by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) of the affidavits filed by the candidates with the Election Commission.
According to a survey done more than 20 % of members of parliament (MP's) of current 15th Loksabha (2009) have several cases pending against them in Indian Parliament, 163 members have cases of heinous offences against them. As against this the central government came up with 10 anti corruption bills in parliament. Some key pending bills in parliament on date * Lokpal & lokayukt bill 2011 * The whistle bolwer protection bill 2010 * The benami transaction prohibition bill 2011 * The prevention of bribery of foreign public officials & officials of public international organisations bill 2011 * The judicial stds and accountability bill 2010 * The public procurement bill 2012, etc

Role of CAG
The Comptroller and Audit General is completely independent of the Government. The reports of the CAG which have been tabled from 2010-2012 have led to the arrest and prosecution of Ministers, permanent Secretary level officers and influential company executives almost for the first time in the history of independent India. The CAG’s reports are behind much of high visibility that has been conferred on the subject of corruption.

The Central Vigilance Commission

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) was set up by the Government in 1964 and the institution has given statutory status relatively recently. The CVC has to investigate complaints of corruption under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against senior civil servants of the Central Government, just below Board level officers in public sector undertakings and senior functionaries working in banks and insurance companies.

India signs the United Nations’s convention against corruption(UNCAC)
In an attempt to tackle corruption India signed the convention in 2011. The Convention addresses both the public and private spheres and provides a set of comprehensive agreed-upon obligations and provisions to criminalize corruption and enhance transparency and accountability. In order to monitor the progress in the implementation of the Convention, Member States have agreed to conduct "peer-review mechanisms" among themselves, for which UNODC acts as a Secretariat.
To conclude Corruption is a major issue tackling it goes beyond simple solutions because of the criminalisation of a substantial part of the political process in countries like India. Without such measures there will be no impact on corruption in high places and cleaning up day- to-day corruption will make only a peripheral difference. As a first step this needs to be confronted by making election funding accountable with transparency in the acceptance of donations. Second the need for state funding of elections with limits on expenditure has several precedents in other countries. Third there is a need to prevent people with a criminal background from entering politics. Fourth there is a need for regulating the constitution, the functioning, accounts and audit of the funds received by political parties and introducing rules Fifthly there is a need to institute measures which prevent those that fail to adhere to the prescribed rules and norms from contesting elections. Finally, ethics is not a subject to be taught but is one which comes from within. Mahatma Gandhi said that seven things will destroy us.The "deadly sins" :

Wealth Without Work
Pleasure Without Conscience
Knowledge Without Character
Commerce (Business) Without Morality (Ethics)
Science Without Humanity
Religion Without Sacrifice
Politics Without Principle

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