The Tribune, Chandigarh, India

	Jaitley, Singhvi in war of words on RS floor Girja Shankar Kaura/TNS New Delhi, December 29 The BJP and the Congress continued to spar over the Lokpal Bill as the Rajya Sabha witnessed sharp exchanges between Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley and Congress MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi today. Having forced a brief adjournment seeking the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the House after the Bill was tabled in the morning, the BJP, led by the Leader of the Opposition, accused the government of bringing a Bill that was “subservient” and could create “constitutional havoc” where the Centre would be encouraged to “usurp” rights of states through the provision of setting up of Lokayuktas. Initiating the debate, Jaitley urged the House to heed the “sense of the nation”. “There is a sense of this nation, that both the Houses of Parliament enact a strong Lokpal law,” he said. “We are being tested. Can we rise to the occasion?” he asked and referred to the perception among the people that those in the government and those in politics did not want a strong law against corruption. Jaitley said: “You (the government) want to control appointments, want control over investigating agencies and use Lokpal to intrude into every aspect of civil society.” “We don’t want the present Bill but also don’t want to go back today without passing a Lokpal Bill. We want a strong Lokpal Bill,” he said. Jailey, whose speech was heard with rapt attention by the House, said, “The legal architecture you have made is not very strong... The government is creating a constitutional cocktail... I regret to say this is half-hearted legislation.” He alleged the government wanted to create a smokescreen by talking to civil society. “If you are creating history, let us not create bad history. We will be leaving a lot of task for the next generation to do,” he said. He made it clear the BJP would not support the Bill in the present form. “Please accept amendments that the colleagues have moved,” he said. Congress member Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who heads the Parliamentary panel that drafted the legislation before it was reworked by the government and introduced in Parliament, was the first to counter the claims of the BJP. Exhorting the BJP to pass the Lokpal Bill for the “nation’s sake”, he accused the main Opposition party of coming up with excuses not to clear the legislation, he declared that it was “in search of the elusive perfect to deny the good”. Attacking Jaitley, the Congress member said the fundamental question was: “Do you want to pass a Lokpal Bill or not?” “They (the BJP) are making statements of stringent conditions in the Bill and are saying they want to pass a strong and comprehensive Bill but after three months. They are using it (conditions) as a pretext not to pass the Bill,” Singhvi said. “If you don’t want to pass the Bill, have the courage to say so and don’t hide in excuses,” he said. As the government grappled with the key ally Trinamool Congress, Jaitley added, “It is a test for the government’s allies as well. Are they only willing to proclaim or are they willing to strike as well?” He based the BJP’s Opposition to the Bill on the influence the government would have in selecting and removing a Lokpal; the failure to make the CBI an independent agency; the portion on the Lokayukta or anti-corruption watchdog to be established in states and the Bill not adhering to the sense of the House on bringing the Citizen’s Charter and Group C and D employees under the Lokpal. The Leader of the Opposition did not let go the opportunity to take on the Prime Minister even. “There is no contradiction between the fight against corruption and retaining the federal structure,” he said. However, Singhvi put up with a spirited defence of the Bill and said the BJP wanted to create a “behemoth of unimaginable proportions” by bringing the CBI, the CVC and the Citizen’s Charter within the Lokpal’s ambit. He was also critical of the demand that the Lokpal have suo moto powers and control over preliminary inquiry, actual investigation as well as prosecution. “Thank God, you did not say judgment must also come from Lokpal,” he said. Referring to the composition of the nine-member Lokpal, Singhvi said the Bill did not ask for reservation, but merely sought “representation” to OBCs, SCs, STs, women and minorities. Getting back at Jaitley for the dig he took at the Prime Minister, the Congress member said, “Your constitutional cocktail doesn’t have the punch it should have.” He also accused the BJP of not voting to grant constitutional status to the Lokpal only because the suggestion had come from Rahul Gandhi.
	Political games cloud Lokpal Bill’s fate New Delhi, December 29 The fate of the long-discussed Lokpal Bill, passed in the Lok Sabha two days ago, appeared uncertain Thursday evening with the government trying desperately to win the numbers game in the Rajya Sabha where it is in a minority and the Opposition and even some of its allies giving notices for as many as 173 amendments. The battlelines were clearly drawn with the government pushing hard for its Bill, providing for the anti-graft institution of an ombudsman at the centre and states, and the opposition trashing it as "constitutionally vulnerable". Official sources said notices have been given for 173 amendments to the bill, introduced by the government in the upper house in the morning. Apart from opposition parties, notices for amendments that would change the very nature of the legislation have been given by its ally the Trinamool Congress as well as the Samajwadi Party (SP), the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Left and the BJP. While the Trinamool Congress is part of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the SP and the RJD support the government from outside. In the 243-member Upper House of Parliament, the Congress and its allies have only 92 members, well short of the 122 magic number. It hopes for support from smaller parties such as the BSP and the SP. As the debate continued inside the House, efforts were also on outside to resolve the logjam over the long-discussed legislation. The Congress core committee met in the evening to finalise strategy in the wake of the extraordinary number of amendments to the document that has been at the centre stage of a furious national debate. "We admit we don't have the numbers in the Rajya Sabha. But we are trying our best to get the bill passed. Our intentions are honest," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said as speculation mounted that the bill would now be pushed to the budget session next February. A key rallying point is the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, which has six MPs in the Rajya Sabha and has sought deletion of a provision on setting up of state Lokayuktas. This has been the issue that has found resonance with most regional parties as well as the BJP. Informed sources said Trinamool Congress members have moved amendments to the bill on provisions that it considers impinge on the federal structure of the constitution and the power of the states to enact their own legislation. "If the Trinamool Congress presses its amendments, the government will face problems," a BJP leader told IANS. During the debate, speakers like Satish Misra (BSP) and Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) cautioned the government against usurping the power of states and diluting the “spirit of the constitution” by imposing its idea on individual states. With political consensus not just eluding, but parties at odds, on the final shape and powers of the Lokpal, Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan, himself a Supreme Court lawyer, said: “From whatever we have seen so far in Rajya Sabha, I don't think the Lokpal Bill will get passed.” — IANS
	BJP tactics on Lokayukta pay off Faraz Ahmad/TNS New Delhi, December 29 The BJP turned the tables on the government by focusing exclusively on the Lokayukta issue in the Lokpal and Lokyaukta, 2011 Bill in the Rajya Sabha today. The BJP seems to have learnt some smart lesson from the debate in the Lok Sabha where it had highlighted issues like the quota in the Lokpal institution and the religion-based reservation in the proposed setting up of Lokpal institution. Even on the CBI issue, there was no one view among the critics of the Bill in the Lok Sabha. Even as the government tried all day yesterday to persuade the Trinamool Congress and other non-UPA supporters like the SP, RJD and the BSP on their side, Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitely moved fast and held sessions with all the doubting Thomases, including those from the Left and most of all the Trinamool Congress. Though Trinamool MPs, wary of being seen with the BJP, tried to underplay the contact with Jaitley saying, "Just if we sit and chat with someone (Jaitely) does it mean we are working at his behest?" Similar confabulations took place with BSP leaders as well. In the Lok Sabha a divided Opposition had conceded when Leader of the House Pranab Mukherjee gave verbal assurance to Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj's to accommodate her suggestion of reducing the number Lokpal members approving investigations against the Prime Minister from 3/4th of the Lokpal members to 2/3rd. Analysts pointed out that these two issues isolated the BJP because there were several parties, including the Trinamool Congress, the SP, the BSP, the RJD and the JD-U which were reluctant to be seen standing with the BJP when it was opposing the quota and religion based reservation. This despite the fact that most parties, including even the DMK, did object to the inclusion of Lokayukta. But in the Lok Sabha, the verbal assurance from Pranab Mukherjee that he would get incorporated the consent of the states for Lokyaukta, sufficed to satisfy the Trinamool Congress that their concern on the federal structure has been addressed by the government. But sources said Trinamool leader and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who was watching the debate in Kolkata was mighty impressed with the content of BJD leader Bhartuhari Mahtab who analysed threadbare the consequences of adding Lokayukta to the Lokpal Bill saying, "The Bill has four major lacunae. First it strikes at the autonomous of states guaranteed by the Constitution. "It is not for Union Government to impose the structure and function of the Lokayukta of state governments but it is for the state governments to decide what they want, bearing in mind their specific requirements." Sources said Mamata called up her party MP Kalyan Banerjee who had spoken on behalf of his party and leader of the party in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopadhyaya. But since they were all in the House, she could not get to them and then with some difficulty got across to them and fired Banerjee, who was tremendously crestfallen. After that Mamata decided to put her foot down and stick to the demand to strike off Laokyukta word from the Bill all through. Now the government knows not how to contend with the Trinamool objection.
	No point in passing this useless Bill: Team Anna New Delhi, December 29 A day after Anna Hazare called off his agitations on Lokpal, Team Anna today admitted that his fast did not create the desired pressure on government and said there was no point in passing this "completely useless" Bill. The Core Committee of Team Anna will be meeting in Ralegan Siddhi on January two and three to decide on the future course of action as Hazare abruptly announced the scrapping of the jail bharo agitation and other protest plans. "The fast was meant to create pressure. Now that on the first day itself they passed an ineffective and useless Bill, there was no value of that pressure. "So it was decided that it would not do any benefit and Anna's health was not well, so it was called off," Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan told reporters here after a meeting of some of the Core Committee members. On the Lokpal Bill, he said, "There is no point in passing this Bill. This is completely useless bill. If it is passed or not, it does not make any difference." Kiran Bedi said government bill was "flawed to fail. It is so designed. Its proposed architecture protects the corrupt and weakens investigation processes." — PTI
	Opposition, allies flay provision for Lokayukta New Delhi, December 29 The formation of Lokayuktas in states under the Lokpal bill emerged as a major sticking point in the Rajya Sabha Thursday, with not just the opposition but even the government's allies rejecting the provision as an attack on the federal structure. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government's ally Trinamool Congress demanded deletion of the entire chapter on Lokayuktas, while main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Left and other parties came up with suggestions for not making it mandatory. Another ally, DMK, while making clear it will not move any amendment, said the provision was an attack on the country's federal structure. "Some people here asked why we are not bringing any amendments," party leader Tiruchi Siva said, referring to Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley. "We want to register our views and we are strong in our views." Joining the league were parties like the Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP). "You can't say that we have safeguarded the provision, and so now parliament can make a law on state subject," BSP leader Satish Chandra Mishra said. The Samajwadi party's Ramgopal Yadav also voiced for independence of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury suggested a clause to give states a time of six months, and optional guidelines for creating the Lokayukta. The BJP, meanwhile, said the provision for formation of Lokayuktas should be brought under Article 252 of the Constitution, while the government has brought it under Article 253. — IANS
	Jethmalani’s blackmoney remarks create flutter in RS Tribune News Service New Delhi, December 29 Senior members of the BJP and the Congress today entered into war of words over a reference to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during the ongoing debate on the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha. It all started when noted criminal lawyer and BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ram Jethmalani referred to an article published in a European magazine in 1991 that contained "names, photographs and bank account numbers". His remarks were strongly objected to by the Congress members led by Mani Shankar Aiyar, a known Rajiv Gandhi loyalist. Immediately, the Congress members were on their feet protesting against Jethmalani. Aiyar and others objected saying Jethmalani was raising an issue that was not linked with the issue under discussion. The BJP and AIADMK members stood up to counter the Congress members and defend the lawyer. The BJP MP’s remarks were in context to persons having money stashed away in Swiss banks. Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan, who repeatedly asked the protesting members to take their seats, said it was "not correct to bring the name of Prime Minister". After the ruling, Jethmalani spoke about the protocol that India signed with the Swiss government on August 30 on double taxation avoidance treaty and used a word to describe the government's intention. The Chair expunged the remark, saying it was unparliamentary. The BJP leader's remark again drew sharp reactions from the ruling benches and Khan had a tough time restoring order.
	Cyclone Thane: AP, TN on high alert Chennai/Hyderabad, Dec 29 Coastal districts of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh were today put on high alert ahead of cyclonic storm "Thane" that is expected to hit the Bay of Bengal coast in the two states by tomorrow morning. As authorities braced for the storm that threatened to bring very heavy rainfall combined with squally winds gusting up to 135 kmph. The Tamil Nadu Government announced a holiday in educational institutions in the state's coastal districts, including Chennai, Cuddalore and Tiruvarur tomorrow. The regional meteorological office in Chennai said the cyclonic storm over southwest Bay of Bengal moved westward slightly and lay centred about 180 km east of Puducherry, 180 km southeast of Chennai. The system is likely to move westwards and cross north Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Chennai, close to Puducherry around early tomorrow morning, it said. North Tamil Nadu and Puducherry could experience extremely heavy rainfall of 25 cm, while isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall would occur over south coastal Andhra Pradesh and Rayalseema, it said. Squally winds with speeds touching 55-65 kmph gusting to 75 kmph are likely along and off north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and South Andhra Pradesh coasts. The wind speed would increase gradually, gusting to 135 kmph along and off north Tamil Nadu and adjoining south Andhra Pradesh coast from tonight, it said. The met office warned that the storm surge of about 1-1.5 m height above astronomical tide would inundate low-lying areas of Puducherry and Chennai, Tiruvallur, Kanchipuram and Villupuram districts of Tamil Nadu. Sea condition is very rough and would gradually become very high to phenomenal. Fishermen along north Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and south Andhra Pradesh coasts have been advised not to venture into the sea over the next 48 hours, the Met office said. The AP Government directed collectors of vulnerable coastal districts to immediately evacuate people living in low-lying areas and closer to the shore. The storm may cause heavy rain up to 25 cm in districts like Nellore, Prakasam and Chittoor in the state, an official release said in Hyderabad. — PTI
	15 UP ministers sacked, more heads may roll Lucknow, December 29 While Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati has set a dubious record of sacking 15 ministers in order to refurbish her image, more heads may roll ahead of the Assembly poll with as many as 13 ministers landing in the Lokayukta net. In the past four days alone, the Chief Minister has sacked six of her ministers, many of whom were facing graft charges, leaving 35 members in the Mayawati Ministry. While Lokayukta Justice NK Mehrotra has already recommended removal of small-scale industry minister Chandra Dev Ram Yadav finding him guilty of indulging in corrupt practices, 13 ministers, including her close aide Naseemuddin Siddiqui, are facing inquiry from the anti-graft ombudsman. Besides, many of the 28 MLAs facing the Lokayukta inquiry are from the ruling BSP. Yesterday, Mayawati sacked two ministers, including minister of state for alternative energy Akbar Hussain and minister of state for science and technology Yashpal Singh, on charges of corruption and anti-party activities. Earlier of Sunday, she had removed four ministers, including higher education minister Rakeshdhar Tripathi, agriculture education and research minister Rajpal Tyagi, minister of state for backward welfare(independent charge) Awdhesh Verma and minister of state for home guard Hari Om. Though, the government did not give any reason for sacking them, sources said the step has been taken against these ministers as they were mired in controversy involving corruption charges. Of the three, Rakeskdhar Tripathi is facing the Lokayukta probe into alleged cases of corruption. Earlier, five ministers ministers, including minister of state for religious endowment Rajesh Tripathi, minister for animal husbandry Avadhpal Singh, secondary education minister Rangnath Misra, labour minister Badshah Singh and Ambedkar village development minister Ratan Lal Ahirwar, were removed from their posts. — PTI
	26/11: Pak says judicial panel will visit India in Jan New Delhi, December 29 Pakistan has formally conveyed to India that its nine-member judicial commission will visit here next month to interview key persons linked to the probe into the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. New Delhi was informed on Tuesday that the Pakistan judicial commission will visit India in January 2012 and the mutually convenient dates of the tour will be finalised soon, official sources said. The commission will take the statements of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate R V Sawant Waghule and Investigating Officer Ramesh Mahale, who have recorded the confessional statement of Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist involved in the 26/11 attacks, to pursue the case in Pakistan. It also wanted to take the statements of the two doctors who carried out the post mortem of the terrorists killed. "We have conveyed the Pakistan's communication to Bombay High Court for information and necessary action," a source said. — PTI