New Delhi:
With activist Anna Hazare threatening to go on a fourth and lengthy hunger strike later this month, the government is trying to deliver an anti-corruption Lokpal Bill that will satisfy the Gandhian as well as political parties, most of who have agreed with Anna's vision for that bill.
So the Prime Minister spent most of last evening working the phone, trying to find political consensus on the powers that the new Lokpal or ombudsman agency should be born with. Sources say the government's latest version of the bill has been accepted by most parties, who will officially discuss it tomorrow at an all-party meet called by the PM. But having learnt the hard way that allies can take exception to not being consulted, this evening, the Congress is meeting with all members of the ruling coalition to map the contours of the new legislation.
The government has said it is not trying to placate 74-year-old Anna. But Sunday's debate, hosted by Team Anna, and attended by all major parties except for the Congress, proved that the government is in a minority over its stand on Anna's key demands. That's prompted their accommodation in the new bill. So the Lokpal, a new ombudsman agency, will be allowed to investigate the Prime Minister, though with safeguards, for charges of corruption. 57 lakh junior bureaucrats, who are central government employees, will also be accountable to the ombudsman. The premier investigating agency- the CBI - will report to the Lokpal when investigating complaints of corruption against government servants.
Anna isn't going by hearsay. He repeated today in Delhi his warning to start a fast on December 27 if the Lokpal Bill is not approved as law by Parliament before then. The activist's core group will meet tomorrow in Delhi to finalise its strategy.
(Team Anna Core Committee meeting tomorrow)
The government has in recent months shown no predilection for seeking consensus - that has led to embarrassing face-first crashes on important matters like foreign direct investment in retail. The Opposition said it had not been consulted; so did allies like Mamata Banerjee, whose party, the TMC, is the second-largest member of the UPA coalition after the Congress. After announcing that it was opening up retail to foreign ownership, the government had to suspend the reforms that were meant to telegraph this government's policy paralysis had ended.
The Lokpal Bill - and what it will offer - has turned into a nationwide debate. The UPA has skidded through a maze of financial and other scandals. Anna has led the country through two huge movements asking for an end to corruption. And the government has tried to strike an unsurprisingly evasive balance between accepting Anna's wishlist and rejecting the need to negotiate with non-elected representatives.
Given that this bill now has to be introduced and debated in Parliament in a matter of days, the government has to find common ground quickly with the opposition and civil society activists.
The need to allow the Lokpal to investigate the PM's office for charges of corruption was emphasised at Sunday's debate at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.
(Will fight for strong Lokpal, but leave details to Parliament: Parties at Anna's debate) The government has been suggesting that the PM must complete his or her term before the Lokpal can follow up on charges of graft. "But why should we tolerate a corrupt PM for even a day?" asked the BJP's Arun Jaitley during the debate. So though the new formula places the PM under the ambit of the Lokpal, there are safeguards. To avoid frivolous complaints, for example, a charge against the PM would be referred to a full bench of the Supreme Court before being accepted by the Lokpal.
The CBI has argued ardently against being made to report to the Lokpal - the agency believes this will defeat the objective of ensuring its autonomy. So it will now have the Lokpal as its boss only for investigations related to corruption. The government is also likely to propose an independent mechanism for the appointment of the CBI Director. Opposition parties at Anna's debate said the CBI has to be freed from government control - and that every party that has formed the government has been tempted to use the investigating agency for political vendetta by launching investigations against opponents, and protecting its supporters. Sources say both the BJP and the Congress may agree that the CBI director should be appointed by the PM, the chairman of the Lokpal and the Leader of the Opposition.
At Wednesday's wider meeting too the effort will be to ensure that there is consensus on all issues so that when the Bill goes on the floor of the House, it is discussed and made law without a hitch. The main opposition party, the BJP, has said it is waiting to see if its demands on key points are met at the all-party meeting. It has also asked all its MPs to be present in Parliament till the end of session. (
Read: What Anna, parties said at Lokpal debate)A day before the all-party meeting, BSP chief and UP Chief Minister Mayawati made her stand on the Lokpal Bill public and said if her party's demands to bring the PM and the CBI under the Lokpal were met, her party would not oppose the government's Bill. She has additionally sought Dalit representation on the Lokpal or ombudsman body that that will be constituted.
(Want PM under Lokpal: Mayawati)As it works the back channels, the government is putting up a brave public face. "Some of the issues being talked about are not issues. Wait for the Bill," said Law Minister Salman Khurshid.