Anna Hazare agitation for Lokpal and the ensuing indelicate fast appears to reach at its logical end. After a daylong debate, both the houses of Parliament have evolved a consensus on all the three points raised by Anna. A resolution is that effect is in the process of getting unanimous nod from both the houses.

Earlier, the Parliament experienced a serious daylong debate. The leader from almost all the Political parties reiterated their faith in the supremacy of the Parliament. The debate was initiated by the leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj with for beautifully articulated speech and concluded by senior minister Pranab Mukhergee.  The proceeding of the debate is to be submitted to the standing committee for consideration.

The Government and opposition today appeared to be on the same page in Lok Sabha during the debate on the Lokpal issue with both sides emphasising that Anna Hazare should end his fast. A discussion in the House over the issue saw the two sides moving closer to a consensus on most points, including the three sticky issues of including the lower bureaucracy, appointing Lokayuktas in states and having a Citizens' Charter, which were a bone of contention in the past.

The tone of the debate was set by NDA Working President L K Advani who in his brief remarks appealed to the House to discuss the issue for the entire day but ensure that by evening the views of the House reach Hazare. He felt that today's discussion would be fruitful only if Hazare heeds the appeals made by the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition, the Speaker and the House and breaks his fast.

Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj said history has given the House an opportunity to pass this legislation and it should not miss it by getting entangled in technicalities. "Let us give this country an effective, strong, free and impartial Lokpal," she said. Ending all speculations about BJP's reservations on the three sticky points on which Team Anna was adamant, Swaraj said her party gives its consent to all of them.

The Congress also underlined that the government was agreeable to reasonable changes on the contentious issues and most of it is "a matter of dialogue and design". Sandeep Dikshit (Cong) said the debate should firstly limit its aim to reaching a consensus so that Hazare can end his fast, which entered its 12th day today.

Swaraj touched upon several points about the Lokpal issue which have been in controversy recently. "At a time when a former minister is saying the Prime Minister should be called in the court as a witness, the issue of including him in the ambit of Lokpal is important. The Prime Minister can put an end to this discussion by saying I am ready to come in its ambit," she said.

Swaraj insisted that while the Prime Minister himself says he wants to be included, nobody from the ruling party is paying heed to it. "Our Prime Minister hardly speaks. And when he does you (Congress) don't listen to him. What he is saying is right, you should listen to him," Swaraj said. BJP wants the Prime Minister to be exempt on issues of national security and public order.

On judicial accountability, both the Congress and the BJP appeared to be of the view that a separate Bill can be brought. BJP emphasised on the need for a National Judicial Commission for appointment of judges.

Swaraj charged Congress with very often using the CBI to target opposition leaders and cited the names of L K Advani, Yashwant Sinha, Sharad Yadav, Mayawati, Mulayam Singh Yadav and Jayalalithaa, among others. She insisted that CBI should become an independent body.

"The most recent case is that of Jagan Mohan Reddy who was clean till he was in the Congress but facing raids after raids by the CBI now," she said.

Both Swaraj and Dikshit maintained that the immunity enjoyed by MPs for their conduct inside the House should continue as supremacy of Parliament should remain. Swaraj said in the cash-for-query scam both Houses of Parliament had between them removed 11 MPs for taking a mere bribe of Rs 5,000 and this proves that the Parliament can deal with breach in conduct.

However, outside the House MPs are ordinary citizens and after the Narasimha Rao case the Prevention of Corruption Act and other laws applied to them, she said. BJP wants the opposition to have a majority in the selection panel for choosing the Lokpal. Referring to the case of selection of P J Thomas as CVC which she had opposed, Swaraj said it had left her wiser and the government should not be in a majority in any such a panel.

There was some difference of opinion between the main opposition and the Congress on establishing a Lokayukta in states with the BJP saying Article 252 gives Centre the power to make an "enabling provision" while Dikshit said this should be left to the states.

Though the BJP gave its consent to inclusion of lower bureaucracy, it cautioned that Lokpal may become an "unwieldy body" and this provision may have a "psychological effect" on the low-level officials.

Dikshit said the Jan Lokpal Bill is "not sacrosanct" as the civil society members have themselves amended it "10-12 times". He argued that the government's views on Lokpal can also be incorporated in the law to be passed. He took dig at Team Anna, saying they had clarified doubts on the Lokpal issue only two nights ago when the same could have been done much earlier.

Dikshit maintained that most differences can be sorted out through dialogue, including on the inclusion of PM, higher judiciary and provisions of drafts prepared by Aruna Roy, Dalit Samaj and Jayaprakash Narayan of Andhra Pradesh.

Rewati Raman Singh (SP) demanded that corporate houses, companies, electronic and print media and civil societies should be brought within the ambit of the Lokpal Bill. He spoke in favour of including lower bureaucracy as well. As regards judiciary, he said, the government should expeditiously set up a Judicial Commission to take care of issues concerning appointment and conduct of judges. The institution of Lokpal, Singh suggested should have adequate representation of minorities and weaker sections.

Dara Singh Chauhan (BSP) too demanded adequate representation of weaker sections of society in the Lokpal. People should also talk about "social corruption" which has been plaguing the country for centuries, he said. Referring to the issue of bringing Prime Minister and the judiciary within the ambit of Lokpal, Chauhan said his party would extend support to the issue provided there is unanimity in the Lok Sabha.

Taking a dig at 24-hour TV news channels and coverage of Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption, Sharad Yadav (JD-U) said, "Is dibbe se bahut dikkat hai.” (This idiot box gives lot of trouble) Ridiculing the electronic media, Yadav said, news channels are so obsessed with Anna Hazare that they have stopped showing other important news especially floods in different parts of the country particularly in eastern India. He wondered why the Congress MPs visit TV studios and participate in discussions. "The country is not run by discussions on television channels, but by Parliament," he said.

Yadav also criticised the remarks and gestures of film actor Om Puri and former police officer Kiran Bedi at Ramlila Maidan, saying that people should maintain decorum. Puri and Bedi yesterday made fun of MPs and had ridiculed them at the venue of the protest. Yadav said Lok Sabha has expelled MPs accused of accepting bribe. He also recalled how former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee lost majority in the Lok Sabha just by one vote.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay (Trinmool Congress) supported the idea of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi providing constitutional status to the institution of Lokpal. The crusade against corruption should be fought through Lokayukatas in states, he said.

T K S Elangovan (DMK) attacked the media for its role in the episode saying it has turned the crusade against corruption into a fight against Parliament and Constitution. "In democracy people are the judges and not media," he said, adding "We should not burden the Lokpal with cases pertaining to lower bureaucracy."

Demanding withdrawal of the government's "useless" Lokpal Bill and working out of a fresh one, CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharya said the Lokpal instituted by this law would not be independent and become "another investigating agency".

Seeking a multi-pronged approach to tackle corruption along with Lokpal, he supported Rahul Gandhi's proposal for state-funding of polls and demanded that corporate funding of political parties should not be legalised and stopped. While judiciary should be tackled separately by creating a National Judicial Commission, tax reforms should be undertaken to check evasion, he said, adding that an estimated Rs 16 lakh crore stashed in tax havens should be brought back.

Acharya also demanded inclusion of the Prime Minister in the Lokpal ambit and expansion of the definition of corruption to tackle the menace more effectively. Besides, punitive action should be taken against corporate houses indulging in corrupt practices involving public servants.

The CPI(M) leader also wanted a separate model bill, in line with the Lokpal, for the establishment of effective Lokayuktas in states, while corruption in the lower bureaucracy should be dealt with by the vigilance machinery "but under the supervision of the Lokpal or Lokayukta". He sought a separate legislation to implement the Citizen's Charter, saying that Lokpal should not become "unwieldy" if it has to deal with all these issues.

B Mahtab (BJD) did not agree with the suggestion for state funding of polls saying it was "inadvisable" for a multi-party system. "We are more concerned about unaccounted money coming in the electoral process," he said. Maintaining that Lokpal should be accountable to Parliament, he also proposed that "a person who prosecutes should not be the one to punish" and observed "don't empower a person or a group so that they create havoc".

Observing that even a strong law cannot stop crime but only punish the criminal, Shiv Sena's Anant Geete said his party supremo Bal Thackeray had urged Hazare to call off his fast and ask his supporters like Kiran Bedi, Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan to carry on the anti-graft struggle. He also castigated the media for "paid news" saying corruption had seeped into all aspects of people's lives.

Maintaining that a bill to create a "superpower centre" should not be rushed through, Geete wanted inclusion of Prime Minister in Lokpal's ambit, but said constitutional provisions on immunity for MPs should not be disturbed.

Sanjiv Naik (NCP) also wanted a strong and effective Lokpal but a separate system for checking graft in lower bureaucracy.

M Thambidurai (AIADMK) said the Prime Minister should not be included as "suggestions are being made that 'include PM but with some riders'. What is the purpose then to include the Prime Minister?" AIADMK cannot fully support Hazare; he said adding that the Centre should not thrust Lokayukta on states. "We have to preserve the federal structure. We are not against Lokpal, but we have to respect the federal structure," Thambidurai said. Hazare can have his own version of the Bill but cannot dictate terms to Parliament, he said.

N Kristappa (TDP) said there was need to accept the three conditions set by Hazare and take up discussion on the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Jayant Chaudhary (RLD) questioned the claims that civil society activism was a dangerous trend. "You have set up the National Advisory Council (NAC) which drafts BillS, why not (allow) Anna Hazare and his Bill," he asked. Chaudhary also favoured having the office of prime minister and the lower bureaucracy under the ambit of the Lokpal.

Gurudas Dasgupta (CPI-M) said the supremacy of Parliament cannot be diluted. He said the government has to explain why the voice of one person has rocked Parliament. He said at this critical hour, the government was speaking in many voices. "There are more than one power centers in this coalition that is why you are not speaking in one voice," he said. Dasgupta alleged that the office the Prime Minister had become a post box.

Contending that the prime minister was not the sole leader of the party, he said the speech of the Congress General Secretary during the Zero Hour was at variance with the line taken by the government. "The Congress General Secretary's speech during Zero Hour yesterday is at variance with the tenor of the speech of the Leader of the House. It is being interpreted as a hardliner and confrontationist speech," he said.

Pitching for a strong Lokpal Bill, he said that a message has to be sent that Parliament was not oblivious to the concerns of the people and that without accountability there cannot be democracy. He said prime minister, ministers, public servants and judiciary have to be made accountable.

Harsimrat Kaur (SAD) contended that the credibility of the lawmakers was at an all time low and enacting a strong Lokpal law was the only way to redemption.

Lalu Prasad (RJD) took exception to the "derogatory" language used against Parliamentarians by Hazare's representatives at the Ramlila ground in the course of the anti-corruption agitation. He pointed out that the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances and Law and Justice had made a grand gesture to Team Anna to give their views on the Lokpal Bill but they only abused the system. Prasad also questioned the validity of the debate on a matter that was already before a Standing Committee.

He asserted that the supremacy of Parliament and Constitution should not be allowed to be moved an inch. "We will not allow this temple (of democracy) to fall," Prasad said.

Later in the day veteran lawyer and senior member of team Anna Adv Shanti Bhushan expressed satisfaction over the debate in the Parliament. It is now presumed the fast will end by tomorrow morning.

Artice source: http://www.newsbharati.com/Encyc/News/0/0/0/0/52/Anna-Hazare%E2%80%99s-agitation-at-its-logical-end.aspx