lawmakers deserve credit for Bill’s passage
The passage of the lokpal and lokayuktas Bill, 2011, by Parliament, is a culmination of the “sense of the House” resolution that both the lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha had adopted a little over two years ago on the need for an effective anti-corruption body. The “sense of the House” had come about in the wake of a massive public uprising led by social activist Anna Hazare for the establishment of a lokpal. The endorsement of the Bill, first in the Rajya Sabha on Monday and then by the lower House on Wednesday, should also bring the curtains down on the incessant spat between the Congress-led UPA Government and the Opposition over the issue.
And, now that Parliament has done its job, it is hoped that the Government will move swiftly to initiate the process for the selection of a lokpal and put in place the accompanying paraphernalia. But given that there is a general election round the corner, the process could well take more time than usual. Nevertheless, the country will soon have a law that had been the crying need for decades, and for that we must salute the parliamentarians who eventually crossed political divides to pass the Bill. They have been the target of ridicule for long on the issue, and on many occasions it did seem that some of them indeed did not have the political will to push for an effective lokpal. But all that is past now. In this hour of triumph, politicians will be well-advised not to rush to monopolise credit for themselves or their leaders, because the achievement belongs to the entire set of lawmakers and not to an individual.
Unfortunately, Congress leaders have already begun to laud their party vice president Rahul Gandhi for the success. Public memory is not so short that people have forgotten Mr Gandhi's deafening silence when the Hazare movement was at its peak a couple of years ago. His interventions in Parliament on the subject too were as good as zero. He may have perked up later and goaded his party and the Government to ensure that the Bill was passed in the Winter Session, but again his efforts would have yielded nothing had the principal Opposition, the Bharatiya Janata Party, the left and the other parties not cooperated.
The Bill may not be exactly the same that Anna Hazare had been agitating for or that the BJP had been seeking. But it substantially meets the key demands that both had raised and pressed for. In the face of the Opposition's resolve, the Government incorporated nearly all the recommendations that a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha had made to the original Bill. Since democracy cannot function in a ‘my way or the highway' attitude, lawmakers from across the spectrum demonstrated admirable flexibility and sensitivity to the concerns of one another in finalising the lokpal Bill.
There are still those like Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal who are unhappy with the lokpal Bill and believe it is more of a “jokepal”. Mr Kejriwal is entitled to his views. Perhaps the passage of the Bill with near unanimity among political parties has robbed him of a potent issue, which is why he is so disturbed. He must appreciate that any lacuna in the proposed legislation can be addressed in the coming months. As a person of some political standing, he too like others will have the opportunity to suggest changes to enhance the effectiveness of the lokpal institution. For now, it would be petty of anyone to belittle the historic moment.