A group of prominent Indians call on the government to urgently tackle the corruption "corroding the fabric of our nation"
NEW DELHI (TrustLaw) - A group of prominent Indians - including businessmen, bankers, former central bank governors and judges - have published an open letter calling on the government to urgently tackle the corruption “corroding the fabric of our nation”.
A series of major scandals have plagued the Congress-led coalition government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in recent months.
His government is struggling to emerge from charges that India lost $39 billion due to graft in the granting of telecoms licenses in 2008, which forced the resignation of the telecoms minister.
In a letter published in local newspapers on Tuesday, the 14 members of the group - which include businessman Azim Premji, head of Wipro Technologies, former Reserve Bank of India governor Bimal Jalan and Sam Variava, a former Supreme Court judge – called for action.
"We are alarmed at the widespread governance deficit almost in every sphere of national activity, covering government, business and institutions," said the letter.
"Possibly, the biggest issue corroding the fabric of our nation is corruption. This malaise needs to be tackled with a sense of urgency, determination and on a war footing."
LOCAL OMBUDSMEN NEEDED
The telecoms scandal hit the headlines in November and has paralysed parliament and pushed policymaking into limbo with the opposition refusing to participate in the national assembly until a joint investigation into the fraud is conducted.
A separate bribe-for-loans banking scandal which implicates state and private lenders is also being investigated, in addition to a housing scam in the western state of Maharashtra and allegations of corruption in the procurement of goods in the run-up to the Commonwealth games.
The open letter - which featured on the front pages of many leading English-language dailies - called on the government to set up anti-corruption ombudsmen in every Indian state who would be empowered to highlight, pursue and deal with corruption.
"Amongst several urgent steps needed, this is possibly the most critical one that the nation can immediately initiate in order to reassure its citizens that corruption will be most severely dealt with, both at the branch and at the root level," said the group.
Others who signed the letter included businesswoman-turned-social worker Anu Aga, Narayanan Vaghul who is Chairman Emeritus of ICICI, India's largest private bank, as well as M. Narasimham, another former central bank governor and retired Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna.
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