Congress unveils action plan against corruption

Congress on Sunday unveiled a five-point action plan to deal with corruption and counter attacked BJP by demanding 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 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.