Kejriwal has warned all government officers that he would chase “the corrupt till hell”. However, the Chief Minister encouraged the officials to work without worrying much about “human errors”. The re-launch coincides with the day in 2011, when Anna Hazare had started his crusade against corruption at Jantar Mantar.
“In my previous 49-day government, corruption was down by 70 per cent. I resolve to make Delhi among the top five honest cities in the world in the next five years,” said Kejriwal, seeking public support to achieve the target. “If an officer of any department in Delhi asks for bribe, don’t deny it, instead record the conversation on your mobile phone and send it to us. We will trap him and send him to jail,” the Chief Minister said before a packed audience at the Talkatora Stadium.
The 24x7 free helpline will also receive calls from outside Delhi. Kejriwal, in full public glare, dialled the helpline number (1031) and introduced himself as ‘Vikram’ to the attendant. He complained against a food inspector in Timarpur, alleging that the latter charged Rs 2,000 for a ration card and disconnected the call only after getting an assurance from the attendant that his identity would be kept secret and he would not be harassed. “We do what we promise. We do not play jumla (rhetorics),”said Kejriwal, in an indirect attack at Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national president Amit Shah.
“I will not even spare my ministers, including Manish Sisodia and MLAs, from being jailed, if found taking bribe,” said Kejriwal. The Chief Minister turned to Sisodia (also on stage) and said, “Manish don’t spare me. You will send me to jail, if I am found taking bribe.”
He directed the officers to put up pamphlets, advertising about the helpline, outside all government offices. Stressing that officials should not ban cellphones in government departments, the CM encouraged the public to conduct sting operations with their cellphones in all offices. He emphasised that to fight against corruption, one needs to work in an impartial way. “All government agencies in Delhi, including those under the Central government like Delhi Police, Delhi Development Authority, New Delhi Municipal Council and MCDs, will come under the anti-corruption helpline,” said the Chief Minister.
Kejriwal asserted that the Assembly had passed a resolution, directing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government not to accept the Centre’s recent notification which restricted the former to limit the (anti-corruption) jurisdiction only to its departments. “And I would abide by it,” he said.“In 1993, the Delhi government had constituted an Anti-corruption Branch, but nobody questioned it for 21 years. It was only when I lodged an FIR against Mukesh Ambani, the Central government issued a notification to restrict our jurisdiction,” said Kejriwal.
He emphasised that the matter was pending in court, but the court had not granted him relief which vindicated his decision. “We may fall a little short of our promises on other issues, but will never compromise on corruption. We will ensure that all corners of Delhi are corruption-free,” said Manish Sisodia.
The re-launched anti-corruption call centre uses advanced technology and is more organised.