Lokpal cannot eradicate corruption completely: Hegde

Asserting that the Lokpal cannot completely wipe out corruption which is as old as the civilisation itself, Team Anna member Justice N Santosh Hegde on Monday said that if the menace could be contained up to 60-70 per cent, "we would be very strong".

"Let me be very frank. You can't eradicate corruption. Corruption is not born yesterday, last year, last century... Corruption was born with the birth of civilisation itself. Go through any scripture you will know corruption was there," he told a local television channel in Bhubaneswar.

Hegde said, an institution like Lokpal could be created which could curb the growth of corruption and clean corruption to a certain extent. "Suppose, we are able to contain it up to 60 to 70 (per cent), I think economically, we would be very strong."

The moot question, whether one Lokpal can abolish corruption or contain corruption, is an argument of cynicism. "Even if we have a strong door, robbery can still take place. Does it mean we will have no door at all," he asked.

"An institution which is there to fight corruption will certainly create fear among the people who are not yet corrupt but likely to become corrupt," Hegde said.

If available institutions brought the culprits to book and judicial institutions immediately held trial and punished, it would work wonders. "Both these systems will bring the corruption down by at least 50 per cent. Fifty per cent is a huge amount," he said.