lokpal drama

The Lokpal Drama

The entire episode of the introduction of the Lokpal and related Bills, the debate in both Houses of Parliament , and the final farcical denouement in the Rajya Sabha seems to be a grand drama enacted to hoodwink the public. When the Lokpal Bill was initially being discussed, there was no indication about the requirement of a Constitution Amendment Bill to give a constitutional status to the Lokpal.  This was the brainchild of the heir-apparent. The Government latched on to the idea knowing  fully well that it did not have the required numbers in Parliament to get the Bill passed .Now that the constitution Amendment Bill has not been passed, it is not clear what will be the status of the Lokpal even if the Bill had been passed in both houses of Parliament or if it is passed in a subsequent session .

From the way the debate was going on in the Rajya Sabha it was very clear that there was no intention to get the Bill passed. The Government knew full well that it did not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha and hence cannot push through the Bill without the support of some of the opposition parties.Hence, it was simply prolonging the debate so that no vote could be taken saving itself the embarrassment of getting the Bill defeated. The intention of the Opposition seems to have been to somehow have a voting on the Bill so that it can clamor for the resignation of the Government.

If the Government and the Opposition had been serious about the passing of the bill they should have sat together and come out with an enactment acceptable to all. The entire episode shows clearly that our Parliamentarians lack the political will to bring about an effective measure to tackle the menace of Corruption in Public Places.