Cong unveils five-point plan to fight corruption

Cong unveils five-point plan to fight corruption
PTI
NEW DELHI, DEC 19
Buffeted by staggering scams and controversies over suspected involvement of right wing elements in terrorism, the Congress today unveiled a five-point action plan to deal with corruption and counter attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by demanding a probe into “links” between RSS and its affiliates and terror.
 A party plenary attended by over 15,000 delegates held against the backdrop of 2G spectrum, Adarsh and CWG (Commonwealth Games) scams heard Congress President Sonia Gandhi as well as her son Rahul Gandhi calling for strict and speedy action against
corruption, including those involving politicians and bureaucrats in a “defined time-frame”.
In her presidential address on the opening day of the two-day conclave at Burari on the outskirts of Delhi, Sonia  Gandhi unveiled a five-point action plan to battle corruption by fast-tracking all cases against public servants including politicians “like us”.
She called for taking forward the proposal of State-funding of elections, legislative and clear procedures to ensure transparency in public procurement and shedding of discretionary powers by chief ministers and all ministers, including at the Centre, especially in land allotments as they “breed corruption”.
An open competitive system of exploiting natural resources was also needed, she said.
 Sonia Gandhi having laid the roadmap to battle corruption, the government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is expected to follow up by taking executive action.
The conclave was also being held against the backdrop of the controversy surrounding Rahul Gandhi’s remarks to US Ambassador Timothy Roemer Hindu radicalism posed a bigger threat than terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba.
Rahul Gandhi confined his speech to corruption without touching on the issue communalism and terror.