Lokpal Bill Tabled in the Rajya Sabha Friday Dec 13,2013

The UPA II Govt  has tabled the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha on Friday Dec 13,2013,as Union Minister V Narayanasamy introduced the amended version of the Bill amid a huge uproar that forced the upper house to adjourn for some time

 The Bill was tabled by Minister for Personnel and Training V. Narayanasamy after Chairman Hamid Ansari announced that he was setting aside the post-lunch private members business for a six-hour discussion on the Bill, which has been returned by the House Select Committee with recommendations. The government has accepted a majority of the recommendations and will move them as amendments

Narayanasamy sought the members’ cooperation in the passage of the Bill, but much of what he said was lost in the din. There was a feeble attempt by a SP member to move towards the Minister but he was waved away by Congress members. Even as BJP and Trinamool Congress members urged the Chair to bring order, the presiding officer adjourned the House. Similar scenes were witnessed till 3.30 p.m., when the House was adjourned for the day

The Govt has agreed to add a provision that investigating officers can't be transferred without the Lokpal's permission which was a recommended by an all-party parliamentary committee

The Govt has, however, refused to include another recommendation, that an errant officer can be raided without notice

The Samajwadi Party, which opposes the Lokpal Bill, is upset at its tabling in Parliament and says it won't support it at any cost

The Govt has earmarked six hours to discuss the Bill in the Rajya Sabha, but the first challenge is to get the House to run long enough. There has been virtually no business transacted in either house amid continuous disruptions in this 12-day session so far

However, the Bill could not be taken up for consideration as the House was not in order with members from SP and TDP shouting slogans in the Well against price rise and bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh respectively

Samajwadi Party(SP) members wanted the government to respond to their notice for a discussion on price rise; but outside the House, party leader Ramgopal Yadav said the party was opposed to the Bill “in the present form” and would continue to protest “till the end.”

On January 31, 2013, the government had amended the Lokpal Bill, delinking it from the setting up of Lokayuktas in the States and transferring powers of sanction of prosecution against public servant to the ombudsman

The Union Cabinet had accepted 14 of the 16 recommendations made by the Rajya Sabha Select Committee, which was set up in May 2012 amid sharp differences among political parties because of which the legislation remained stuck in the Upper House since December 2011