Face Indian Inequalities Squarely : Arjun

New Delhi, Dec 13 (UNI) Giving breaks on taxes or labour laws ''is no longer enough'' to ''entice'' investors, who look for ''good governance''.

This was pointed out by a senior advocate at a lecture on Judiciary and Good Governance delivered last evening by senior Supreme Court Judge K G Balakrishnan.

Presiding over the lecture, Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh urged ''every pillar of our Constitution'' to face squarely the realities of ''inequality in our society.'' Mr Singh said the cause of good governance ''is facilitated by an honest admission-- however unfashionable it may be in the present times-- of the realities of inequality in our society.

''The courage to face this stark reality squarely is enjoined upon every pillar of our Constitution, whether it be the Judiciary, the Legislature or the Executive.

''The commitment to removing inequalities must in my humble opinion be the starting point of good governance.'' The event was the 15th annual lecture to celebrate the foundation of the Indian Law Institute recently recognised by the HRD Ministry as a Deemed University.

In his lecture, Justice Balakrishnan highlighted the role judges have played in governance in such crucial areas as pollution and environment and asserted that rule of law prevails in India.

Mr Singh spoke admiringly of judicial initiatives in not just environment, but privacy, public health, poverty and education.

He also recalled ''epochal interventions'' by retired Supreme Court Judge V R Krishna Iyer.

Touching a raw nerve, ILI Vice President R K Anand said investors ''prefer to go where governance is good. It is no longer enough to offer tax incentives or exceptions to labour laws or to carve out exceptional economic zones.'' ''More needs to be done to make foreign and local investors stay and expand in our country.'' ''Before investors enter the market, they want to know what the rules are,'' Mr Anand said, adding that investors leave markets that are ''badly governed.'' Among essentials of good governance, he counted a government that follows the rules and makes no exceptions, a legislature that focuses on its core mandate of adopting wise laws, regulators not swayed by special interest, auditors who properly review public accounts, a bureaucracy that proudly and professionally serves the public and private sectors that respect and obey the law.

He acknowledged that a judiciary that holds the law above everything and everyone was indispensable.

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