Jan Lokpal Bill Passed in Indian Parliament

Suryatapa Mukherjee,

Correspondent (Politics)

 

NEW DELHI – After eight failed attempts over the past five decades, Indian Parliament today passed the Jan Lokpal bill by which an ombudsman would be established who will have powers to prosecute politicians and civil servants including the Prime Minister.

Anna Hazare, the social activist behind the bill, who had been crusading for its passage since 2011, ended his nine-day fast today.

The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2013, is still to be signed by the President but it is a nominal formality at this point as the bill has already been amended and passed by both houses of the Parliament.

Samajwadi Party and Shiv Sena members walked out in protest during the passage of the bill since they were against it. The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party who are usually opposed in every stance, supported the bill unanimously.

The Aam Aadmi Party is not satisfied with the bill, dubbing it ‘Jokepal,’ as according to them it is not strict enough to curb corruption. It is headed by Arvind Kejriwal who had started the struggle for the Jan Lokpal beside Anna Hazare, the former deciding to politicise the fight in order to win.

Vice President of Congress Rahul Gandhi sought to extend the Parliament’s winter session stating that they have six other bills in the pipeline which should be passed in order to efficiently combat corruption.

BJP member and Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj criticised Congress for trying to take credit for the passage of the bill stating, “The people of this country and the old man (Anna Hazare) who has undertaken fast several times deserve the credit.”

Congress’s extraordinary enthusiasm to push the bill could be influenced by its suffering of massive losses in the assembly elections where the AAP made a stunning debut based on its promise to fight corruption.

Image Courtesy: Wikimedia Commons (Indianhilbilly)