Technology can't end corruption: Jairam Ramesh

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh today said that technology is merely an "instrument" and should not be considered as a one-stop solution to eradicate corruption in the country.
At a panel discussion on 'Is India Ripe For A Revolution?' Ramesh was joined by former chief election commissioner S Y Quraishi, who said if human interference is reduced, corruption might go down.
They were speaking at the 'Tata Literature Live!' here.
Quraishi said, "The best way to reduce corruption is to reduce human interference. That's what our prime minister keeps saying. We should have e-options for payments, because once this is in place, chances of corruption go down."

To which, Ramesh replied, "It's very easy to fall prey to this 'techno mania' if you think technology is going to solve all your corruption problems."
"Technology is an instrument. Institutions are far more important. Accountability of elected representatives far more important," Ramesh said.

When moderator journalist Dilip D'Souza said how even a "tool like Right to Information is slowly being diluted", Ramesh said, "The RTI is being withdawn by the same guy, who is saying technology is going to solve corruption issues."
When asked if he sees 2014 (general elections) as a revolution, the former union minister, said it was a "big revolution".

"A party that got seven per cent of votes consistently ends up getting 31 per cent. It was a major political revolution. No doubt about it. But, some revolutions carry the seeds of their own destruction...," he added.
At the event, Ramesh was also asked, how he started as a revolutionary environment minister, but towards the end his ministry was taken away.
When asked if it was because he red-flagged a lot of projects, which came in the way of economic development, Ramesh said, "If you're too revolutionary in government, you'll find your exit very soon."
"It also demonstrates the fact that in governance, you have to be able to strike the middle path. It's not always easy to be a revolutionary. It's easy to be a 'growth revolutionary' and say '10 per cent GDP at all cost'. It's also easy to be an environmental revolutionary and say stop all projects as they are impacting our natural resources."

"The real challenge in governance is to find a middle path. To find ways of navigating fundamentalism of both sides," he said.