Details and points of stand off over Lok Pal Bill
Source: The Sangai Express / Ninglun Hanghal

Delhi, June 08 2011: , Jun 8 : Anna Hazare and his team held a one day fast in protest against the police crackdown on Baba Ramdev, Saturday midnight at Ramlila Maidan ground in central Delhi.

With no permission granted for the National Capital's exclusive zone for 'protest and demonstration' Jantar Mantar, the peaceful protest was shifted to Rajghat.

Over a thousand supporters joined Anna and his team amidst high security.

The protest comes even as the deadlock in drafting of the Jan Lokpal Bill is on.

The ten member Jan Lokpal Bill drafting committee was formed on April 8 in the aftermath of Anna Hazare's week long fast in Jantar Mantar .

The committee comprises of Government representatives Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Veerappa Moily, Kapil Sibal and Salman Khursid while the civil society are represented by Shanti Bhushan, Anna Hazare, Prashant Bhushan, N Santosh Hegde and Arvind Kejriwal.

Anna and his team boycotted the drafting committee meeting on June 6, wherein the Government went ahead in drafting the Bill.

In his address to the media, Arvind Kejriwal said that the Government should not be arrogant "if the full committee is not present then it is not a joint committe , it therefore is a sarkari ( a Government ) Bill" .

Anna Hazare with his colleagues at Rajghat

The drafting process came to a standstill when Team Anna demanded that the Prime Minister, the Judiciary, members of Parliament, officials in lower rank, be included under the purview of the Lok Pal.

While the civil society representatives argued that keeping the PM out of the ambit of Lokpal's jurisdiction violates the Constitutional provisions, because Constitution grants such immunity only to the President, with the PM holding several portfolios a corrupt PM can be the biggest threat to internal and external security, the Government stands that it would create instability at the top.

On the Judiciary it demanded that permission to register FIR against corruption of any Judge be given to a seven member bench of the Jan Lok Pal rather than the Chief Justice of India.

The Government however has responded that such a move will affect the independence of the Judiciary.

On the question of whether MPs should be covered by the Bill, Anna and his team alleged that the country has witnessed several horse trading including images of MPs receiving bundles of notes being flashed all over.

It quoted that according to the SC judgement in the case of Jan Mukti Morcha case, the person who gave bribe can be convicted but the MP who took that bribe cannot be prosecuted.

It stated that despite evidence in the open in the last 62 years no MP has been prosecuted or sent to jail.

The team feels that the Constitution does not grant them immunity to sell votes, but only to speak and vote independently.

If the Constitution needs to be amended, it should address such critical problems.

While many opined that the Lok Pal Bill should concentrate only at the higher rungs in establishments the draft member team argued that India's classic anti-corruption system is completely fractured, wherein several departments are involved in dealing one case such as the Vigilance Department to inquire the role of junior officials, the CVC the role of senior officials, the CBI to investigate the criminal aspects, the Lokayukta to study the role of politicians.

It maintained that a junior or a senior official, bureaucrat and politicians do not indulge in corruption separately.

It noted that none of the top ten countries in the list of Transparency International have only one anticorruption agency to deal with corruption at all levels.

The Govt's suggestion that CBI be out of the purview of Lok Pal and a separate wing be created for Lok Pal, saying that cases if found to be influenced to be taken up by Lokpal, Anna and his team questioned : what then is the need for a CBI at all? .

After India signed the UN Convention on corruption in 2005, it was ratified in May 2011 .

The Jan Lokpal Bill was introduced in the Parliament for over eight times since 1968 and the Jan Lokayukta Bill for the States, which has remained ineffective.

In his interview to television channel today Home Minister P Chidambaram stated that the Joint Committee (drafting committee for the Jan Lokpal Bill) cannot pass a legislation.

It has to be passed by the Parliament.

He affirmed that the Govt is committed and confident to finish the draft by June 30, which will be put before the Cabinet then to the Parliament, to the standing committee then back to the Parliament for final approval.

On the question of the huge public sentiment over the Lok Pal Bill and the anti-corruption movement, the Union Home Minister said that such movement should be 'self regulated' .

Accepting that there are certain drawbacks, the Minister stated that despite the failure India has sustained Parliamentary democracy.

Meanwhile Baba Ramdev who fled Delhi (disguised in a woman's dress) and is continuing his fast in his Ashram in Haridwar warned the Govt that his supporters would be 'armed' and ready to retaliate if the police crackdown again.

Reportedly, Baba Ramdev's 'empire' estimated at Rs 1,100 crore has come under the scanner.

Over 30 companies mostly ayurvedic medicine, food, cosmetics, construction, real estate, transport, packaging, including Aastha Tv (a religious TV) are affiliated to Ramdev's Patanjali Yogpeeth and Divya Yog Mandir trusts.

Besides Income Tax Department the Enforcement Directorate have started to gather information on all these trusts operated by the Yoga Guru and his associates.