New Delhi: The much talked about Lokpal Bill is expected to be brought again for consideration in the Rajya Sabha during the second phase of the Budget session of Parliament.

The bill is on the live register of the Rajya Sabha and it will be taken up only in the second phase of the Budget session, according to sources.

The Budget session began on March 12 with President Pratibha Patil addressing the joint sitting of members of both the Houses of Parliament and its second part will be held from April 24 to May 22.
Lokpal Bill to be tabled in Budget session

The Lokpal Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha during the winter session on December 27, 2011, but later a political war broke out between the government and the Opposition as the Bill could not be passed in the Upper House, with both sides accusing each other of carrying out a “well choreographed” chaos to scuttle it.

The Opposition had charged the government with running away from a vote because of lack of majority in the House.

The government had then stated that the bill was “alive” and would be taken up in the Budget session for passage.

In all its charges and counter charges, the government had ensured that it did not annoy its ally Trinamool Congress, which had ganged up with the opposition and declared that it would vote against the provisions relating to Lokayuktas.

The Lokpal Bill presented in Parliament differed from the Jan Lok Pal Bill that Anna Hazare and his supporters had hoped to push through. It did not have the Citizens’ Charter. Nor did it include the lower bureaucracy under its ambit. Team Anna’s other members including Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Prashant Bhushan had lashed out at the government for formulating a Bill that they called “powerless” for under the Bill, the Lokpal can’t initiate investigation on its own, nor can it punish an errant public servant.

The other major differences between the Jan Lokpal Bill and the one tabled in Parliament were exclusion of the Prime Minister during his/her tenure, exclusion of judiciary, exclusion of MPs’conduct including voting within Parliament and exclusion of the anti-corruption unit of CBI.

Anna Hazare and his supporters under the banner of India Against Corruption (IAC) had captured the entire country’s attention when the elderly activist sat on an indefinite fast on April 5, 2011, in Delhi to protest the government’s earlier draft of the Bill. He withdrew his fast on April 9 after the government agreed to look into the concerns voiced by the civil society activists.

Anna gave the government an ultimatum to pass a strong Bill by August 15, 2011. But dissatisfied with the government’s fresh version, he threatened to launch a movement on August 16. The government acted by arresting Anna and the other major leaders but had to release them under tremendous public pressure and media glare. IAC continued its agitation at the Ram Lila grounds in Delhi which saw large turnouts.

Soon, controversial figures like Baba Ramdev and religious right wingers like Sadhvi Ritambhara shared the dais with Anna and the others. Anna continued his fast for 12 days, breaking it only on August 28. But the movement’s secular image took a severe beating.