Ombudsman saga

The bill has been in the pipeline for decades. Several drafts have failed to gain the approval of parliament. Even in its newest avatar, critics say, the government was more-or-less forced to table the bill in a strategic move to take the wind out of the sails of an aged, ailing Gandhian, Anna Hazare, who had mobilized India's discontented middle classes behind him in a nation-wide anti-corruption crusade.

The bill was passed but failed to make it to the necessary two-thirds majority in the Lok Sabha, or the lower house of parliament, which was a debacle in itself. Subsequently, the government engaged in furious lobbying to ensure that the bill would be passed by the Rajya Sabha, or the upper house, within the extended session of parliament ending on Thursday.

Risky venture

There were reasons for apprehension. The United Progressive Alliance government led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Congress Party has only 94 members in the 243-member upper house, and was relying on the support of regional parties and independent lawmakers. Even within the coalition, a major but unreliable ally such as the Trinamool Congress, in power in the eastern state of West Bengal, was demanding amendments to the bill, which they also officially did on Tuesday.

Going into Thursday's debate at the Rajya Sabha, Singh's government and his party knew the risks involved. Even withdrawing the bill in advance if defeat looked unavoidable seems to have been an option, according to some quarters. What came in effect might have played into the government's hands.

Proceedings were adjourned shortly before midnight after more than 13 hours of a riotous debate which made the chairman, Hamid Ansari, adjourn the house with the remark: "The house cannot be conducted in this noise." Or: "If this is the way the Rajya Sabha is going to conduct itself, then all of us can go home."

Moratorium

The future path of the bill seems unclear. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal told the house that 187 amendments had been proposed by the lawmakers during the debate and that these would have to be studied. The bill would be considered in the budget session of the parliament in February 2012, he said.

For the Bharatiya janata Party (BJP), the main opposition party, the entire debate, including the disruptions and finally the adjournment, had been "consciously orchestrated" by the government which was "running away from parliament," as senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley put it.

While Anna Hazare's team is accusing the government of not having done their "homework" properly, Indian media have been more outspoken in their verdict. The Indian Express daily saw the ruling coalition with "egg on its face." As regards the so-called Lokpal, or “protector of the people” bill, the Mail Today tabloid said that the legislation was now "in cold storage."

Author: Arun Chowdhury (AFP, dpa, PTI)
Editor: Sarah Berning