Government says " Lokpal Bill to be Passed in this Current Session"

The Government on Tuesday said it will pass the Lokpal Bill during the current session of Parliament. The Bill is stuck in the Rajya Sabha despite being passed in the Lok Sabha.

Union Minister V Narayanasamy confirmed this today even as anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare began his indefinite fast to get his Janlokpal Bill passed in Parliament.

The government's Lokpal Bill was cleared in the Lok Sabha but was stalled in the Upper House during a midnight drama in the House. After the debate which saw acrimonious exchanges between the Treasury and Opposition benches, the draft of the Bill was torn by a RJD member of the House. The Opposition had called this a deliberate attempt of the government to stall the Bill.

The UPA government was forced to draft the anti-corruption Bill after massive protests by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi's Jantar Mantar and Ramlila Grounds. The Bill was introduced and passed in the Lok Sabha but is yet to be cleared in the Rajya Sabha.

Last week, he had told to the sources of Hindi News Paper that Parliamentary Affairs Minister V. Narayanasamy had sent a letter detailing steps taken by the government to bring in the Lokpal Bill.

“If Prime Minister Manmohan Singh can pledge to get the Prevention of Communal Violence Bill passed in Parliament, why can’t he do the same for the much-delayed anti-graft law?” Mr. Hazare asked.

Recalling his earlier hunger fast in Delhi, Mr. Hazare said, “Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter saying that the government is ready to bring the Jan Lokpal Bill and asked me to end the fast. I trusted her and I ended my fast.