The literally last-ditch anti-corruption effort of the UPA-2 was driven by the Congress party reeling under the electoral defeats in four out of five Assemblies that recently went to the polls. The party’s internal assessments have blamed it partly on the failure to curb corruption.

On its guard after the unexpected Aam Aadmi Party success, the rival BJP is also pitching to claim its share of the anti-corruption crusade.

The coming together of the two big ones left dissenters with hardly any choice. The Samajwadi Party staged a walkout, saying the Lokpal would prevent the bureaucracy from taking decisions.

The circumstances notwithstanding, it is a “historic” Bill in every aspect, pending for almost five decades. Never before has any legislation ever evoked such a wide discussion.

Since Independence, eight Lokpal Bills have been initiated in Parliament. With the exception of the one in 1985, which was withdrawn, all others lapsed.

What makes new Lokpal version more powerful Delinking of the Lokpal from Lokayuktas. Every state will establish a Lokayukta under its own law within a year from the date of implementation of the Lokpal Act. The argument that Lokayuktas as part of Parliamentary legislation would impact the federal structure of the states was accepted. The Lokpal will call for explanation from a public servant to determine whether a prima facie case exists before ordering investigation by any agency, including the CBI. However, the seeking of explanation before an investigation will not prevent any search and seizures required to be undertaken by any agency. The power to grant sanction for prosecution of public servants too has been shifted to the Lokpal. The position of the fifth member of the selection committee under the category of "eminent jurist" will be filled through nomination by the President on the basis of recommendation of the first four members of the committee - the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India. Excluded While institutions financed by the government have been retained under the jurisdiction of Lokpal, those aided by government stand excluded. This means political parties have been excluded from the purview of the Lokpal. All institutions receiving donations from the public have also been excluded. Sibal says the government wanted exclusion only for religious and charitable institutions, but agreed in the interest of evolving a consensus. There will be separate specific laws for such organisations. Control of CBI Amendments have been effected to reduce the government's control over the premier investigating agency: The CBI Director will be appointed by a collegium comprising the PM, Leader of the Opposition of the Lok Sabha, and the Chief Justice of India. Power of superintendence over the CBI in relation to Lokpal-referred cases will rest with the Lokpal. Any officer investigating a case referred to it by the Lokpal will not be transferred without his approval. The CBI may, with the consent of the Lokpal, appoint a panel of advocates, other than government advocates, for handling the cases referred to it. There will be a Director-Prosecution under the CBI Director. The Director-Prosecution will be appointed on the recommendation of the Central Vigilance Commission. The CBI and Prosecution Directors will have a fixed term of two years. The Centre will make available funds for conducting effective investigation into the matters referred to the CBI by the Lokpal, and the Director will be responsible for the expenditure incurred.

Giving effect

Experts say the Bill has the teeth to deliver, but to make it foolproof it needs to be teamed with six more anti-corruption legislation pending in Parliament. Even as it is the Lokpal will have the power of superintendence and direction over all Central investigation agencies, including the CBI, in regard to cases referred to them by the ombudsman.

The Prime Minister has been brought under the purview of the Lokpal, as are Central ministers and senior officials.

There are sceptics too. As a senior government functionary who did not wish to be identified said: “If passing laws could have curbed corruption, then it would have been wiped out long ago, as India already has 18 legislation related to the issue. It is the gap between having a law and implementing it where the problem lies.”

A step forward

The general consensus still is that the Lokpal Bill — prepared with recommendations of Rajya Sabha member Satyavrat Chaturvedi-headed Select Committee — is a step in the right direction.

“The earlier provisions did not involve a well-crafted mechanism supervised and monitored by a powerful apex organisation like the Lokpal,” says Venkatesh Nayak of the NCPRI (National Campaign for People's Right to Information).

As someone who has closely followed the progress of the legislation, Nayak calls the 2013 version a “practical” effort, drawn on time-tested principles. “The earlier versions primarily aimed to provide a complaint mechanism against maladministration and mal-governance.

“The 2013 version has its focus right — on corruption. It is not just a complaints body but also has the power to initiate prosecution and take action,” explains Nayak.

“The Lokpal can launch investigation where there is sufficient evidence. The PM has been brought under its ambit but with safeguards to ensure that he does not become a victim of malicious complaints. His inclusion sends the message that the position of a person cannot deter a genuine complaint,” he adds.

The Lokpal comes at a time when India’s performance under the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) is being reviewed by a peer group.

However, important laws that would complete the statutory framework for combating corruption — the Whistle Blowers Protection Bill, Public Procurement Bill, Prevention of Bribery of Foreign Public Officials, Judicial Accountability Bill and the Officials of Public International Organisations Bill — are still pending in Parliament.

While the Bills are on the Congress’ agenda ahead of the general election, there is little chance these will be cleared in the limited time left.

The politics

Delhi — the state that gave the Congress the worst drubbing — is dotted with posters thanking party vice-president Rahul Gandhi for giving India the Lokpal.

The BJP, also in a self-congratulatory mode, slammed Rahul for “claiming credit” for the Lokpal even though “the Congress and its allies were neck-deep in corruption”.

Interestingly, both parties also competed to highlight anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare’s efforts in the direction. One, because the Gandhian was indeed responsible for bringing the Lokpal on the people’s radar in 2011, and two, to undermine the role of Arvind Kejriwal and his party AAP, born out of the Lokpal agitation.

Upset with Kejriwal, Anna too in turn thanked Rahul, the Congress and the BJP. As he too avoided mentioning his former protégée, the political loop was complete.

Venkatesh Nayak though prefers to confer the title of “hero” of the Lokpal Bill on the “aam aadmi” — not the party but the common people. “Their response to AAP shook the Congress out of its languor.

“The select committee report on the Lokpal Bill had been lying with Parliament since last year,” he says.

Poll plank

Launched with much fanfare, the National Food Security Act failed to make an impact for the Congress in the Assembly polls. With corruption heavy on people’s mind, especially the middle-class urban voters, it is expected the party make efforts to curb it the main poll plank, along with free food and employment.

Law Minister Kapil Sibal said in Parliament: “We have to rise above our political viewpoints and listen to those outside this House, listen to their expectations… and also listen carefully to the manner in which we have conducted ourselves over the years.

“Millions in this country are really fed up with corruption at the highest levels... and at all levels,” he said.

Even as it supported the Bill, the BJP took a snipe at the ruling party. Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said he was happy the government had accepted all changes in the Bill suggested by his party, keeping in mind “the changed political environment”. The obvious reference was to the Congress’ loss to AAP in Delhi.

CPM leader Sitaram Yechury used a song from the Dev Anand-starrer “CID”, “Kahin pe nigahen kahin pe nishana”, to describe the situation. He was referring to December 29, 2011, when the Bill was torn to pieces by Rajneeti Prasad, an MP of the RJD, a Congress ally. For the Congress-BJP cooperation on the Bill he said, “Aakhon his aakhon mein ishara ho gaya”.

Even as Yechury spoke, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajiv Shukla was sitting with the Leader of the Opposition on the Opposition Benches.

Not all happy

Civil society representatives say the Bill passed last week does not adhere to the resolution passed by Parliament in August 2011.

According to Nayak, there should be a single uniform law in the country to combat corruption. “The biggest drawback of the Bill is that it does not cover the entire country. There is no compulsion on the states to design a Lokayukta framework in line with the Lokpal framework at the Centre,” he says.

Around 18 states have introduced the institution of Lokayukta, but their experience is not well documented, so there is no way to ascertain their efficacy. “The experience in Karnataka shows 80 to 90 per cent of its work is related to grievance redressal and only 10 per cent is corruption related,” Nayak adds.

Considering that the CVC has been given the responsibility of dealing with complaints regarding Group C and D employees, Nayak says the body should be given extra powers on the lines of the Lokpal.

There are also objections to dropping “charitable institutions” from the purview of the Lokpal. According to the CPM, private sector and PPP entities and NGOs dealing with government funds should all be brought under the ambit of the Lokpal. The government says issues regarding corporate and private companies will be looked after by laws such as the Prevention of Corruption Amendment Bill, 2013.