Union minister V Narayanasamy tabled the Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha on Friday
The government has tabled the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha, as part of its promise to fast-track the proposed anti-corruption law which seeks to create a national ombudsman empowered to investigate charges of corruption against elected representatives and bureaucrats.
Here are the latest updates on this story:
Union Minister V Narayanasamy introduced the amended version of the Bill amid a huge uproar that forced the upper house to adjourn for some time.
The government has agreed to add a provision that investigating officers can't be transferred without the Lokpal's permission. This was a recommendation of an all-party parliamentary committee.
The BJP had accused the government of ignoring key recommendations of the panel while redrafting the Bill."We won't allow the government to subvert the select committee report," BJP's Arun Jaitley said on Thursday.
The government has, however, refused to include another recommendation, that an errant officer can be raided without notice.
The Samajwadi Party, which opposes the Lokpal Bill, is upset at its tabling in Parliament and says it won't support it at any cost. The party has instead indicated that it will support a no confidence motion proposed against the government on Telangana. (read)
Two years ago, the Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha, but flopped in the Rajya Sabha as the Opposition demanded changes. A new version based on the recommendations of the committee is now being introduced first in the Rajya Sabha and then the Lok Sabha.
The government has promised to pass the Bill in both houses in the winter session which ends next Friday; it has been put on notice by Anna Hazare, who is on an indefinite hunger-strike in his Ralegan Sidhi village in Maharashtra to demand that the bill be passed immediately.
"We will see whether the government brings the Lokpal or joke-pal," the 76-year-old Gandhian activist said yesterday.
The Centre's alacrity is also seen as a response to the spectacular performance in the Delhi elections of the Aam Aadmi Party, whose founder Arvind Kejriwal partnered with Anna in 2011 to champion the Lokpal Bill.
The government has earmarked six hours to discuss the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, but the first challenge is to get the House to run long enough. There has been virtually no business transacted in either house amid continuous disruptions in this 12-day session so far.
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