New Delhi:
The government could be staring at a new and bitter confrontation with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare. The draft for the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill that is expected to be introduced in Parliament soon is in its final draft now and is missing some of the non-negotiables that Team Anna has shortlisted.
The Prime Minister and junior bureaucrats are not covered by the Lokpal - the new ombudsman agency that the Bill is meant to give birth to, say sources. The Bill is being prepared by a parliamentary committee which has 30 members from different parties and is headed by Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. The committee meets one final time on November 30, but its draft report suggests there is "near consensus" on the exclusion of the Prime Minister.
This has been a huge point of dissent within the committee. The BJP has agreed with Team Anna that the PM's office must be subject to the Lokpal's review; the Left and other parties had said matters of national security could create grounds for exemption; the government has been insisting that the PM should be investigated only after he or she exits office. The draft's reference to "near consensus" seems to belie the deep political divide on the matter.
Anna and his core group believe that an ombudsman that cannot investigate junior bureaucrats will be ineffective in eliminating graft from the daily life of the common man - in applying for drivers' licenses, for example, or while trying to collect the subsidized grain guaranteed by ration cards.
The committee has agreed that judges will also not be covered by the Lokpal - a separate Judicial Accountability Bill will be developed. Corporates, NGOs, and media receiving donations from public and foreign sources will be within the jurisdiction of the Lokpal. So will senior Group A and Group B bureaucrats.
A single law passed by Parliament will deliver the Lokpal at the Centre and replicate the model in states. And in keeping with the suggestion of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Lokpal will be a constitutional body.
Anna has warned that unless the government ensures that an effective Lokpal Bill is passed in the winter session of Parliament, he will pilot another mass protest. In August, the Gandhian's epic hunger strike led to a historic debate on corruption in Parliament which ended with parties agreeing to consider his team's vision of the Lokpal Bill.