UPSC Mains 2013 GS Paper 2 Q17: model answer
'A national Lokpal, however strong it may be, cannot resolve the problems of immorality in public affairs.' Discuss.
What the question wants
Discuss why even a powerful Lokpal cannot by itself remove immorality from public life.
How to structure it
Discuss: what a Lokpal can do, what it cannot, what else is needed.
- Context
- What the Lokpal does
- Why law alone fails
- Complementary measures
- Conclusion
How to think it through
The quote came in the year the Lokpal Act passed, after the Anna Hazare movement. A watchdog catches the thief after the theft; it does not make people honest. Corruption is a crime; immorality is a culture. Separate the two and the answer writes itself.
Model answer
In 2011 lakhs of people joined Anna Hazare's fast for a Jan Lokpal, as if one institution could clean public life. The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 followed, but the first Lokpal was appointed only in 2019, and its early years saw few prosecutions. The lesson is older than the Act: law punishes corruption; it does not create integrity.
What a Lokpal can do
- Inquire into complaints against the Prime Minister (with safeguards), ministers, MPs and officials.
- Direct the CBI, attach property and recommend prosecution.
- Deter by making exposure likely.
Why it cannot resolve immorality
- Immorality is wider than crime: nepotism, conflict of interest, misuse of discretion and lying in public are often not offences.
- Supply side: bribe-givers, corporate donors and voters who reward patronage.
- Political funding: elections run on unaccounted money create obligations that no ombudsman can trace.
- Overload: one body cannot investigate lakhs of officials; the Central Vigilance Commission already struggles with backlog.
- Social tolerance: when 'speed money' is accepted as normal, complaints never arrive.
What must accompany it
- A code of ethics for ministers and legislators (2nd ARC, 4th Report).
- Transparent party funding and state funding of elections, as the Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) suggested.
- RTI, whistleblower protection and e-governance to cut discretion.
- Ethics education and leadership by example.
A strong Lokpal is the lock on the door. Public morality is the household behind it, and that is built by leaders, institutions and citizens together.
Draw: An iceberg: crime (visible, Lokpal) above water; culture, funding, discretion below.
Keywords, cases and data to drop in
Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013, first Lokpal 2019, 2nd ARC 4th Report 'Ethics in Governance', CVC, conflict of interest, Indrajit Gupta Committee 1998, Nolan principles.
Where most answers lose marks
- Rejecting the Lokpal. The quote says 'however strong'; accept its value, then show its limits.
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Question text as printed in the official UPSC Civil Services (Main) question paper. The model answer is original Battle IAS work; use it to learn structure, not to memorise.
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