Lokpal debate : Good that govt has come to terms with reality, says BJP

Anti-corruption Lokpal Bill is scheduled for debate in the Rajya Sabha today:

New Delhi: 12:39 pm: Referring to the tearing of the Bill by a member in 2011, Jaitley said, We should not repeat what happened on December 29, 2011."

12:37 pm: Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley speaks on the Lokpal Bill. "It is good that the government that the government has come to terms with the change reality of India," Jaitley said.

12:33 pm: Reading out the recommendations of the Select Committee on the Lokpal Bill, Sibal said that Lokayukta in all states will be mandatory within one year of the Lokpal Bill becoming the law.

12:21 pm: Law Minister Kapil Sibal has initiated discussion on the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha. "We hope the House creates history. Sometimes we have to rise above the political lines and listen to the voices outside the House and the way we have conducted ourselves in the past. Never has a Bill garnered so much public debate," Sibal said.

12:20 pm: The SP MPs have walked out of the Rajya Sabha opposing the Lokpal Bill.

12:15 pm: Speaking in the Rajya Sabha on the Lokpal Bill, SP MP Ram Gopal Yadav said, "In this Bill, any person can put in a complaint and we will have to go to police officers investigating the matter to give our statement. The lawmakers in that case will hesitate to take any decisions."

"This bill will lead to no work. Officers will hesitate in taking up work," Yadav said.

12:13 pm: The Rajya Sabha has taken up the Justice Ganguly issue. "Men in power misuse women and do their best to silent the voice of the women," TMC MP Derek O'Brien said.

"What is the message we are giving by not acting against Ganguly when the 3-member SC committee has said that his act was improper. There should be action against him," Derek added.

12:11 pm: Uproar continues as Rajya Sabha resumes. TMC MP Derek O' Brien has requested the Chairman to take up the Justice Ganguly matter in the House. The Chairman has refused and asked him to give a notice. The Chairman has meanwhile also asked SP leader ram Gopal Yadav to speak as the SP has been disrupting the House delaying the Lokpal Bill.

11:32 am: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who also joined the meeting of SP leaders with the Prime Minister, is hopeful that the Lokpal Bill will be passed in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday.

11:19 am: SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and leader Ram Gopal Yadav have met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde were also present in the meeting.

11:05 am: The Rajya Sabha resumed on Tuesday with an uproar by the Samajwadi Party MPs over price rise even as Chairperson Hamid Ansari asked the government to initiate the discussion on the Lokpal Bill. The AIADMK and the TMC also protested against CHOGM summit and Justice AK Ganguly. The House has been adjourned till noon following the uproar.

Earlier on Tuesday, Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi replied to anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare's letter on the Lokpal Bill saying the government was committed to the Bill. Anna had written to Rahul thanking him for his commitment to get the Lokpal Bill passed.

"Thanks to your 15th December letter. It was very encouraging. We are committed to giving a strong Lokpal to the country. We respect your role in it and thank you for the support," Rahul said in his letter.

Anna had in his letter to Rahul welcomed the government's move to bring the Lokpal Bill and requested him to incorporate the suggestions of the select committee. Sources say that Anna had also written a letter to BJP leader Arun Jaitley, thanking him for the same.

Sources say that Rahul has summoned Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and MoS PMO V Narayanasamy to his residence to discuss the Lokpal issue and has asked them to ensure that the Lokpal Bill is passed on Tuesday itself.

"We just met Rahul Gandhi and he says that in all circumstances Lokpal Bill must be passed. We have persuaded SP and hope for the support," Kamal Nath said.

All eyes are now on the Rajya Sabha as it is set to debate the Lokpal Bill. Kamal Nath has said that all parties who attended the all-party meet have decided to pass the Lokpal Bill. The NDA added that the Bill can be passed even amidst protests hinting at the opposition from the Samajwadi Party.

With both Houses adjourned for another day on Monday, the window to get the Lokpal Bill passed has now shrunk to just four days forcing key government managers to swing into action.

"We are appealing to all parties to ensure the Bill is passed in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday. All parties are of this view that it must be passed and they will speak to the SP," Kamal Nath said.

The Congress and its Vice President Rahul Gandhi are now attempting to put their stamp on the much awaited anti-graft law. After the resounding drubbing in four assembly polls, the urgency on the part of Congress is apparent and with Anna Hazare, for once striking a reconciliatory note, opposite to that of his disciple Arvind Kejriwal who is vociferously opposing it, the timing could not be more apt.
"I am with the government on this Bill. Let those who have problems with the Bill agitate," Anna said.

On Monday, last ditch efforts were being made to strike some sort of consensus on the long pending legislation. In the all-party meeting of floor leaders of the Rajya Sabha, the BJP and its allies offered to get the law enacted even by a voice vote as there has emerged a broad consensus on all the 15 recommendations of the select committee on Lokpal Bill. The BSP is also on board, but it is the Samajwadi Party, which still appears adamant.

"We are opposed to this bill and won't allow it to be passed," said SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav.
It remains to be seen whether the long struggle for the Lokpal is finally coming to an end? The Congress may now be attempting to claim credit for the bill to earn political dividends. But the question is whether it is too little too late.

Source:ibnlive.in

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