Lokpal debate - Govt set to face BJP, Left hurdles

New Delhi: The stage is set for a showdown between the UPA government and Team Anna starting Tuesday. The first battle will be fought in Parliament which takes up the Lokpal Bill for a debate on Tuesday. While the government has the numbers for now in the Lok Sabha, passing the Bill in the Rajya Sabha won't be easy.

As the big fight gets set to begin, the government is making a last minute bid to reach out to the Opposition, admitting it doesn't have the two third majority it needs to move for a constitutional amendment granting constitutional status to the Lokpal.

But its the several amendments which both the BJP and the Left plan to move, which could stall easy passage of the Bill.

"There are a lot of shortcomings to the Bill," BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

"The MPs should understand that the country needs to have an effective Lokpal," he added.

The BJP plans to move as many as 37 amendments, including enabling a provision for setting up state Lokayukts as the party feels it is against federal structure.

The party also plans to move an amendment against the reservation for minorities in selection panel for the Lokpal as they feel it is unconstitutional.

The Left's amendments include - the Lokpal should have a separate investigation wing and there should be broadbased selection panel for the Lokpal.

In addition, most parties like the RJD and the JD(U), will oppose Section 24, which allows the Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman to act against an MP on the basis of the Lokpal report even before trial is over.

RJD chief Lalu Prasad and SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav are set to object to inclusion of the Prime Minister and wide policing powers of the Lokpal.

It's this alliance of the BJP and the Left on the one side and parties like the RJD, Mulayam and even Mayawati on the other that makes it hazardous to make any prediction on whether the bill will pass through both houses, especially as the UPA doesn't have the numbers in the Rajya Sabha, and this fits into the government's strategy.

The government hopes that a divided opinion on the Lokpal would stall the bill. The UPA has the numbers in the Lok Sabha, so it is under pressure to get it passed.

In the Rajya Sabha, the UPA is in minority, so the onus of blame in case the bill is not passed, would be put on the Opposition by the government.

Amendments can be moved just after the discussion on the Lokpal Bill begins in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. The amendments need to be put to vote.

If the amendments are passed in one House and rejected in another, a joint session needs to be called to decide. A joint session could delay the passage of the bill.

Some of the big questions that could prove to be crucial for the Government are:

- Is the government serious about passing the Lokpal Bill?

- Is the government only concerned about passing the bill in the Lok Sabha where it has the numbers?

- Does the government actually want the bill to fail in the Rajya Sabha where the Opposition has the numbers?

- Is it the government's strategy to then pin the blame on the Opposition?

- Are amendments being moved by the BJP and Left asking for more independence of the CBI non negotiable for the government?

- Will Section 24, which allows the Speaker and Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to take action against MPs while a Lokpal trial is on, be the uniting point for the political parties?

- Will the government be successful in winning the Opposition support for a constitutional status for the Lokpal?

- Is the government scared of losing control over the CBI?

- Are MPs scared of the Lokpal?

Posted in: Politics