Lokpal launches competition for motto, logo

The newly created anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokpal, has launched a competition for its logo and motto, an official said on Tuesday (May 28).

It has sought entries and is offering a cash prize of Rs 25,000, they said. Lokpal is a statutory body constituted under The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 to enquire into allegations of corruption against certain categories of public servants/ functionaries.

People can send in their entries up to June 13.

The motto/slogan should be catchy and should not be more than four-five words, according to an official announcement seeking the entry.

The language for the motto or slogan could be in Hindi or Sanskrit or English, it said.

All entries received within the due date, will be evaluated by a selection committee which would be constituted by the Lokpal. The decision of the selection committee will be final and binding on all the participants, it said.

Entries will be judged and selected on the basis of creativity, simplicity, artistic merit and visual impact and how well they communicate the concept of Lokpal, the announcement said.

A total of 1,239 entries have been received for Lokpals motto and at least 365 entries have been received for logo, the officials said.

President Ram Nath Kovind had on March 23 administered the oath of office to Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose as the chairperson of Lokpal.

Justice Ghose, 66, retired as the Supreme Court judge in May 2017. He had last served as a member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The Lokpals eight members were administered the oath by Justice Ghose on March 27. Former chief justices of different high courts — justices Dilip B Bhosale, Pradip Kumar Mohanty, Abhilasha Kumari and Ajay Kumar Tripathi — had taken oath as judicial members of the Lokpal.

Former first woman chief of Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) Archana Ramasundaram, ex-Maharashtra chief secretary Dinesh Kumar Jain, former IRS officer Mahender Singh and Gujarat cadre ex-IAS officer Indrajeet Prasad Gautam were sworn-in as the Lokpals non-judicial members.

According to the rules, there is a provision for a chairperson and a maximum of eight members in the Lokpal panel. Out of the eight, four need to be judicial members.