Wait over as Rajya Sabha clears Lokpal Bill,LS to take up changes today

Incidentally,almost all the amendments that the government agreed to on Tuesday are those which the BJP was insisting on two years back when lack of consensus stopped the Bill from being passed in the RS.

The Samajwadi Party,a strong opponent to the creation of Lokpal,boycotted the House proceedings after staging a walkout soon after it took up the Bill for consideration.

Among the major amendments passed by the RS are:

Delinking of the mandatory creation of Lokayuktas by the state governments,a contentious clause that had come in the way of the passage of the Bill in December 2011.

A clause stating that CBI officials investigating a case referred to the agency by the Lokpal would not be transferred without the approval of the ombudsman.

Selection process of the Lokpal has been changed,with the task being left to a committee comprising the Prime Minister,Lok Sabha Speaker,Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha and Chief Justice of India,besides an eminent jurist appointed by the President on their recommendation.

The office of Prime Minister would be under the purview of the Lokpal,though with certain safeguards.

In order to get the Bill passed,the government accepted all but three recommendations of the select committee which had recommended major changes in the proposed law. The government did not accept a recommendation which said that an accused public servant should not be given any chance to present his or her view before initiation of investigation. Despite the BJPs opposition,the government also had its way on the issue of not less than 50 per cent of the members of Lokpal being drawn from among SC,ST,OBC,minorities and women.

Barring voting on an amendment proposed by the Left MPs,aimed at bringing public-private partnership PPP projects also under the jurisdiction of the Lokpal,all other amendments were cleared through voice vote. The Left amendment was defeated,with only 19 MPs supporting it.

Initiating the debate on behalf of the government,Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal,who moved the Bill and later piloted it,said it was a historic day and hoped that all states would follow suit and pass similar legislations to set up Lokayuktas modelled on the Bill.

Stating that while law alone could not eliminate corruption,Sibal said it would help deal with those who are corrupt. On the issue of bringing the Prime Minister under the purview of the new law,he said the overall consensus was in favour,although there were some discordant individual views against it.

Defending the inclusion of judges in the Lokpal panel,Sibal said it was done as complex legal issues are involved. Lawmakers,he said,couldnt be part of it as it involves conflict of interest.

Supporting the Bill,Leader of Opposition in the RS Arun Jaitley expressed happiness that the government had accepted all the changes in this changed environment,a thinly-veiled reference to the recent drubbing that the Congress received in the recent Assembly elections.

The BJP leader also drew the Law Ministers attention to a clause that says prior hearing would be given to an accused official before an investigation is launched,and argued that it could be misinterpreted in case of search and raid operations. He also sought that a proviso be added to this clause to clarify that where search or seizure is required,no prior hearing would be necessary.

CPIM leader Sitaram Yechury moved an amendment to bring PPP projects under the purview of the Lokpal,but it was defeated overwhelmingly by 151 against 19 votes.