PARLIAMENTARY REPORT
The representatives of the people in Parliament “must be allowed to do the job that they were elected for”, said the Prime Minister. On 27 August 2011, the
then Finance Minister and the Leader of the Lok Sabha, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, MP, made identical statements in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, on the issues relating to setting up the Bill. He highlighted the issues of the Citizen’s Charter, setting up of Lokayukatas at
INDIA President Pranab Mukherjee
state levels and bringing lower bureaucracy under the ambit of the Lokpal. These issues had been raised by Shri Hazare and his team members through their Jan Lokpal Bill. The Minister proposed to adopt a resolution by consensus at the end of the debate which might satisfy Shri Hazare. Shri Mukherjee, however, asserted that the supremacy of parliamentary democracy and constitutional framework must be maintained. As provided in the Jan Lokpal
Bill, the anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) should be brought under the Lokpal. Smt. Swaraj said that the selection body for appointment of Lokpal should not be dominated by the government and proposed to have more members from the outside. The House agreed in
principle on the following issues: A Citizen’s Charter, lower bureaucracy under the Lokpal through appropriate mechanism,
and establishment of Lokayuktas in the States. As requested by Shri Mukherjee, Speaker, Smt. Meira Kumar transmitted the proceedings to the Departmentally Related Standing Committee for its perusal while formulating its recommendations on the Lokpal Bill. In its report, presented on 9 December 2011, the Standing Committee made a number of recommendations suggesting major amendments to the Bill with regards to the scope and the content. Subsequently, the government withdrew the Bill and introduced a new one, the more comprehensive Lokpal and the Lokayuktas Bill, in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011. On 27 December 2011 when the Bill was placed before the Lok Sabha for its consideration, Smt. Swaraj said the Bill suffered from enormous discrepancies and termed the Bill as weak. She suggested for referring the Bill back to the Standing Committee for further improvement. Intervening in the debate, the Prime Minister said the task of legislation must rest with the legislators; others could persuade and have their voices heard. With regards to the CBI functioning under the Lokpal, the government believed this would create an Executive structure outside Parliament, which was accountable to no-one. The Lok Sabha eventually passed the Bill on 27 December. However, the Constitution Amendment Bill seeking to provide constitutional status to Lokpal and Lokayukta fell through due to the lack of requisite numbers as required for constitutional amendment bills. On 29 December 2011the
Rajya Sabha also had a discussion on the Bill as passed by the Lok Sabha. The Bill could not be passed before the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die at midnight. Subsequently, the Rajya Sabha adopted a motion on 21 May 2012 referring the Bill as passed by the Lok Sabha
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to its Select Committee for examination and report.
Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) raised certain apprehensions. He said the Bill should not be passed as it was not in the interest of the nation as once enacted, the bureaucracy would be afraid to take decisions. Shri Kapil Sibal said the
Smt. Meira Kumar The Bill, as passed by the Lok
Sabha, included some of the following: • An establishment of the insti- tution of the Lokpal at the Centre and the Lokayukta at the level of the State, thus providing a uni- form vigilance and anti-corruption road map for the nation both at the Centre and at the States; • The Lokpal should consist of a chairperson with a maximum of eight members of which 50 per cent were to be judicial members and the remaining 50 per cent to come from amongst the Sched- uled Castes (SCs), the Scheduled Tribes (STs), the Other Backward Classes (OBCs), minorities and women; and • The selection of the chairper- son and the members of Lokpal would be through a selection committee consisting of the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India or a sitting Supreme Court Judge nominated by the Chief Justice of India and an eminent jurist to be nominated by the President of India. The Minister of State in the
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Shri V. Narayanasamy, MP, moved the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 for consideration of the Rajya Sabha on 13 December 2013. On 17 December, when the Bill was taken up for consideration, Prof.
Select Committee had carefully looked at various provisions of the Bill and made comprehensive recommendations. He praised the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Shri Arun Jaitley (BJP), for taking a very constructive approach to ensure that there was a comprehensive and thought-out legislation. The Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha recommended to remove the part of the Bill relating to State Lokayuktas. It was one of the provisions which had stalled the passage of the Bill in December 2011. The recommendation was to set up an institution of the Lokayukta through enactment of a law by the State Legislature within a period of one year from the date of commencement of the Act. The government accepted the recommendation. The Select
Shri Kapil Sibal, MP
Committee had recommended a number of amendments in the Bill with a view to strengthening the CBI such as setting up a directorate of prosecution headed by a Director of Prosecution. The essence of the legislation,
according to Shri Sibal, was that the investigating agencies would be independent, and the appointment of the CBI Director
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