The bill has been a legislative priority since 2011, when Gandhian social activist Anna Hazare began a mass movement calling for a Jan Lokpal (or people’s ombudsman), to keep a check on corrupt practices in all agencies and authorities in the country, including the judiciary, the civil service, elected officials and even the prime minister’s office
Timeline of the bill & the progress it has made over 4 decades -
1968: The Lokpal bill was introduced before a Parliamentary committee for review. The committee decided to keep the prime minister out of the bill’s purview
1969: A revised version of the bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha. The lower house of Parliament passed the legislation. Rajya Sabha, the upper house, however, didn’t take up the bill for discussion
1971: The bill was again introduced in the Lok Sabha with minor changes. A few states had already implemented the Lokayuktas or watchdog bill at a state level. But yet again, the bill didn’t manage to cross all hurdles before the session of the national Parliament ended
1977- 2011: The bill was re-introduced six times in the Parliament but wasn’t passed because of lack of consensus. In 1989, the prime minister was brought under the bill’s jurisdiction for the first time. The Congress party’s Vishwanath Pratap Singh was the prime minister at the time
April 2011: A month after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss enlisting people from outside government to help draft a bill to set up an anticorruption ombudsman’s office, social activist and anticorruption crusader Anna Hazare began fasting at central Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, a designated spot for political sit-ins and protests in the capital city
Anna Hazare’s fast lasted for three days as the government decided to form a joint panel of ministers and civil society activists to draft the bill
June 2011: The stalemate between the government and Anna Hazare continued and each brought out their own versions following the failure to reach a consensus. On Jun. 30, a draft of the bill was presented before India’s cabinet
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev also started his own anticorruption protest, which was disbanded by the police. Anna Hazare led a one-day hunger strike against the actions taken by the police.
The government and Anna Hazare’s team failed to reach a consensus on the bill
July 2011: The cabinet approved the draft bill which did not have jurisdiction over the prime minister
Aug. 4, 2011: The bill is introduced in the Lok Sabha amid widespread agitation by anticorruption protesters since the scope of the law did not extend to the prime minister
Aug. 16, 2011: Anna Hazare was arrested and sent to Tihar Jail under a temporary legal proision that banned public gatherings and protests at a New Delhi park where he was planning to hold his hunger strike
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Aug. 19, 2011:Anna Hazare was released from jail after agreeing with the government’s demand to hold a protest for only two weeks and headed straight to Ramlila ground, a vast public ground in the heart of Delhi where he launched his hunger strike
Aug. 29, 2011: Anna. Hazare ended his 13-day Hunger Strike after India’s Parliament adopted a resolution agreeing to so-called Team Anna’s key demands for a bill to set up an independent anticorruption agency.
The government and the 73-year-old’s team reached an agreement on the legislation
Dec. 20, 2011: India’s Cabinet had approved its own version of the bill .But Anna Hazare and his aides remained unhappy with the government’s version, which failed to meet his key demands
Dec. 23, 2011: India’s government introduced the legislation in Parliament, amid protests from opposition parties and anticorruption activists, setting the stage for another showdown in the legislature
Dec. 27, 2011: The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill were passed by the Lok Sabha. The bill was tabled a week before on Dec. 22. However, Rajya Sabha opposed to the bill during the session
Sep. 2012: The bill was shortlisted for consideration and passing after the approval of the Rajya Sabha’s select committee, a body of lawmakers appointed to review and amend proposed legislation, during the monsoon session that started Aug.8. Lawmakers failed to pass it
Dec. 2012: The proposed anticorruption law was again on the agenda of the winter session that began on Nov. 22. However, its status remained unchanged
Jan. 2013: The Cabinet approved amended version of the bill that left out religious and charitable institutions aided by the government – a month before the Budget session that began on Feb. 21.
However, lawmakers didn’t manage to pass the bill during the three-month-long session
Aug. 2013: The bill was expected to be discussed during the Monsoon Sessiion of the Parliament which began on Aug. 5 but it retained its pending status at the end of the sitting.
Dec.5, 2013: With the winter session of the Parliament beginning, passing of the bill was top priority for the lasw makers as it threatened to become a major electoral issue if it remained pending
Dec. 17, 2013: Amendments to the Lokpal bill were passed by the Rajya Sabha by Voice Vote from where the legislation was returned to the Lok Sabha -lower house for ratification
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