Raising the matter of appointment of Lokpal, which has been relegated after the Parliamentary elections, the former Governor of West Bengal Gopalkrishna Gandhi said here on Thursday that the government should appoint someone with integrity to the post.
Addressing a gathering after inaugurating a seminar on Gandhian thoughts and politics at the University College, he said that Parliament would have to answer why the appointment of Lokpal has not become a reality.
He said that social activist Anna Hazare’s agitation brought to limelight the need for the appointment of Lokpal.
After elections to Parliament and the Delhi Assembly, the focus on the appointment of Lokpal has waned. “Someone like the erstwhile social reformer late Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay could be appointed as Lokpal,” he said.
Hailing the Swachh Bharat Mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a “wise and good step”, he said that but there is a need to look beyond the cleanliness of the surroundings. Mahatma Gandhiji had a wider perspective of cleanliness. He said that Mahatma Gandhiji believed in both in inner and outer cleanliness.
Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi said that the government should reveal what is happening to nuclear waste.
“Huge amount is being spent on nuclear energy. Frankly, I do not know what is happening to nuclear waste,” he added.
He said that some of the nuclear installations were on zone III and zone IV of potential seismic hazard zones. “Is it safe to have them?” he questioned.
He said that there should be checks on illegal mining and uncontrolled use of plastic products. “High level intervention is needed to control plastic lobby,” he said.
He alleged that it was plastic lobby which was responsible for states not able to impose curbs on plastic garbage. “There has to be some equivalent like the Salt Satyagraha to break the monopoly of plastic lobby,” Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi said.