Rajya Sabha rejects Lok Sabha-approved, constitutionally vulnerable Lokpal Bill

POLITICS\\ The Lok Sabha passed the landmark Lokpal Bill on December 28, 2011, but failed to make the Lokpal committee a constitutional body. The Bill came with the amendment that appointing Lokayuktas would not be mandatory for every state. This amendment was made in view of the opposition from the government allies and others. The defence forces and coast guard personnel were kept out of the purview of the anti-graft ombudsman and the exemption time of former members of Parliament was increased from five to seven years. But a number of amendments moved by the Opposition, asking for the inclusion of corporates, media and NGOs receiving donations, were defeated and the amendment to bring the CBI under the purview of the bill was also rejected by the government. Later, on December 29, the Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha, where the UPA did not have a majority, and failed to get the Bill passed. The Opposition called the Bill “constitutionally vulnerable”. A ruckus was created in Parliament, which the Opposition called a “pre-planned script”. As the government failed to get the simple majority, the Bill is now likely to be presented at the joint parliamentary session.