Lokpal,Lok Sabha

As the Lokpal bill wends its way to the Union cabinet and then Parliament,each of its contentious clauses will be discussed threadbare. At this point,there is a great effort being made to harmonise opinion on the question of if and how the prime minister will be answerable to the Lokpal,on how the CBI and the lower bureaucracy will be covered. However,many important details remain hazy like how the proposed body will bring in reservations,whether or not it will include a citizens charter,as Anna Hazare and his comrades demand.

However,Anna Hazare has declared himself disillusioned in the process before he has seen any results,and has begun rallying crowds in various cities. This is bewildering and yet predictable behaviour Team Anna cannot simultaneously claim to respect parliamentary processes,and yet,insist that any departure from their version is tantamount to betrayal. It is to their credit that the Lokpal bill has become an unstoppable force. The government,from the prime minister down,has assured them that the bill will be introduced and debated in this Parliament session. Now,they must behave like mature stakeholders in the matter,not in this petulant and passive-aggressive fashion,going from full faith in the government to this bill is worthless in a matter of hours. Speaking at a rally in Bangalore,Anna Hazare accused the government of cheating the people of India.

Whether or not Hazare and his team-mates ever accept it,the will of the people is expressed through free elections and distilled through representative institutions not a show of hands or the decibel level of the cheering at Jantar Mantar. Most political parties have made it clear that the final shape of the bill will only emerge after rigorous deliberation in Parliament. As BJP leader L.K. Advani emphasised: There are no two opinions that it is Parliament which will decide the final Bill,nobody else. Now that the process is in motion,we must leave our legislators to their job,knowing that the final product may not please every individual,but will be a considered response. It will weigh competing interests and take into account every ideological constituency. All the arguments around the bill will be aired,debated and resolved and the Lokpal we get at the end of the process will be one that the people of India have chosen for themselves. If it needs any more change,they will have to go back to Parliament.