Showdown looms over Lokpal bill

Agencies/New Delhi

A worker makes kites with images of anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare inside a workshop in Ahmedabad. Kite-makers said they have made around 300,000 kites this year with Hazare’s images and each is sold for Rs5

The government geared up yesterday for a showdown with opposition parties and civil activists over a landmark anti-corruption bill to be presented in parliament. The new legislation was the focus of mass protests in August, spearheaded by veteran activist Anna Hazare, that saw millions take to the streets of cities across India to denounce the corruption that permeates all levels of Indian society. The proposed law would create a powerful new ombudsman, or Lokpal, tasked with probing and prosecuting senior politicians and civil servants suspected of graft. The cabinet approved a final version of the bill late Tuesday and Sonia Gandhi, the president of the ruling Congress Party, vowed to steer its passage through parliament over the objections of opposition MPs and the Hazare campaign. “I will fight for the Lokpal bill,” she told a meeting of Congress Party members. “I cannot see any reason for us to be defeatist.” Opposition parties have said they will insist on amendments to the cabinet-approved bill, while Hazare has scheduled a repeat of his August hunger strike that galvanised public opinion behind his campaign. The main points of contention focus on the ambit of the ombudsman’s office and its powers of investigation. The government bill offers only limited jurisdiction over the prime minister and requires the ombudsman to put any criminal probes in the hands of the government-controlled Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Hazare and a number of opposition parties want the ombudsman to control any CBI investigations. “I reject the new version of the bill,” Hazare told reporters in his village in Maharashtra. “If the CBI is outside (the ombudsman’s control), then how will the Lokpal be strong? This system will save corrupt politicians,” he said, accusing the government of “cheating” the people by proposing a weak bill which will be introduced in parliament today.Gandhi hit out at what she called the “obstructionist” tactics of the opposition and accused the Hazare team of “malicious” criticism. The outpouring of public support for Hazare’s anti-graft fast in August had stunned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s coalition government, which has been tainted by a series of high-profile corruption scandals. Hazare confirmed that he would hold a new, three-day hunger strike from December 27 in a public venue in Mumbai. “Elections are coming in five states and the people will teach them a lesson,” Hazare said. The parliament session was to have ended tomorrow, but has been extended through December 29 to discuss the anti-graft bill. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said it will not comment on the bill until the final version of the proposed legislation is circulated among MPs.Party leader S S Ahluwalia said no statement could be made without seeing the bill.“Even a full stop or a comma changes the meaning of a sentence... we will see the bill and only then give any comment,” Ahluwalia said.Law Minister Salman Khurshid attacked the BJP for criticising the bill without even looking at it.“Has the BJP seen the bill? Without looking at the bill, they are talking of betrayal. First have a look at the bill, then talk,” he said.“Are we going to work on the suggestions of others? We are sensitive...we received suggestions from different organisations, including voluntary organisations. Those which were found to be appropriate have been included in the Lokpal bill cleared by the cabinet,” the minister added.