Victory for Anna, sort of

Victory for Anna, sort of

Parliament agrees 'in principle' to Anna's conditions; but govt retains wriggle room on bill

Both houses of Parliament Saturday unanimously adopted a "sense of the House" on Anna Hazare's three conditions for an effective Lokpal bill: establishment of Lokayuktas in the states, a Citizen's Charter, and inclusion of the lower bureaucracy in the Lokpal bill. The Parliament's "resolving" to consider these three factors as key to an effective Lokpal was greeted with celebrations by the Anna camp. The Parliament's debates on the bill will also be forwarded to the Standing Committee on the Lokpal bill. Anna responded by announcing that he will break his fast at 10am today. "But the battle is only half-won," he said. The Parliament, however, did not pass a resolution, or conduct a voice vote on the conditions put forward by Anna. The government used every trick in the rulebook to not commit itself either through voting or a resolution. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, who initiated the debate, intervened late in the evening to request Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar to forward the debate proceedings to the Standing Committee examining the Lokpal Bill. The BJP was in favour of voting but the Congress wriggled out of the situation. Earlier on Saturday, with Team Anna firm on their demands, and all eyes on the government, Mukherjee kicked off the discussion by asking the Parliament to discuss three specific issues: whether the jurisdiction of the Lokpal should cover all employees of the central government; whether Lokpal will operate through the institution of the Lok Ayukt in all states; and whether the Lokpal should have the power to punish all those who run afoul of the 'grievance redressal mechanism' to be put in place. He wondered if any of the members in the House really believed such provisions will end corruption. Mukherjee, however, made it clear that the decision on these points "must be consistent with the principles enshrined in the Constitutional framework." He said that the Standing Committee examining the Lokpal Bill can take into account the "practicability, implementability, and constitutionality" of the consensus view of the Parliament. "We have taken oath to abide by the Constitution. So whatever we do has to be within the Constitution. We are at crossroads. It is a rare occasion, when the proceedings of this House are attracting the attention of the entire nation and the whole world. I would request the members to have a dispassionate and objective discussion to find a solution to the problem without compromising parliamentary democracy," Mukherjee said. Though there was no voting, experts said that a thumping of the desks after Mukherjee's speech could be seen and taken as a voice vote and as adoption of the resolution. The BJP stood by its stated position. Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj suggested that the Lokpal and Lokayukta can be made through one single bill under section 252 of the Constitution, which talks about the "Power of Parliament to legislate for two or more States by consent and adoption of such legislation by any other State." While favouring a grievance mechanism system and a citizen's charter, the BJP, however, did not favour Anna's ideas completely and suggested different mechanisms for curbing corruption in the lower bureacracy. But all these suggestions came after sufficient government bashing. Swaraj took a dig at the prime minister, the Lok Sabha Speaker and Rahul Gandhi. She said Gandhi had come to the House to give his party's line. "It was then that I realised that the government was dragging it's feet and looking for a way out," Swaraj said, while calling his speech laughable. The young Gandhi was not present in the house and Swaraj rubbed in the point that he rarely makes an appearance. The Congress MP from East Delhi, Sandeep Dikshit, clarified the government's position and said that there was scope for negotiations, and changes in the government's bill.