The midnight drama in the Rajya Sabha on December 29 will go down in India’s history as a black day for democracy. It was evident that none of the political parties were keen to see a Lokpal Bill being legislated. Much time was wasted in the Rajya Sabha in slanging and shouting matches and melodramatic stances such as the tearing of the Lokpal Bill by a Rashtriya Janata Dal member. All this was predicted by an alert media and the drama was played out to a script. No political party can get out of this incident unscathed.
Media debates on the incident have captured eyeballs ever since the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die without the Lokpal Bill being passed. Some lead anchors have gone as far as blaming the Chairperson of the Upper House, Dr Hamid Ansari for obstructing the passage of the Bill by citing parliamentary rules and procedures. Interestingly, former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha, Subhash Kashyap who proffered his views on television said there is no rule to preclude the continuance of the debate on the Lokpal Bill, post midnight. Incidentally this is the second time that such a stalemate has occurred, the first being the Women’s Reservation Bill which was also hijacked in a similar manner.
Some other dangerous precedents have also entered the discourse on the Lokayukta. Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamul Congress who is still riding the victory wave is constantly getting her pound of flesh for supporting the UPA Government. Her proposal for greater federalism, implying thereby that state governments should have their say in the appointment of the Lokayukta is fraught with duplicity. In the communist ruled state of Tripura and earlier in West Bengal, the Lokayukta is appointed by the state chief minister. This defeats the very purpose of putting in place an anti-corruption mechanism as the Lokayukta then becomes a political instrument. There should be no ambivalence that there ought to be a uniform law to check corruption in the states.
At this point, the people feel a sense of betrayal. They feel that team Anna and its India Against Corruption movement should now be resurrected with a vengeance and that the people should teach the parliamentarians a lesson they will never forget. In the 2014 election the reason to vote should be the Lokpal Bill because there is no doubt at all that the common citizen in this country wants corruption free governance.
