Lok Sabha Passes Lokpal Bill by Voice Vote , lokpal bill, whip, aaj tak, pib, times now
The Lok Sabha passed a bill on Tuesday to create an anti-corruption ombudsman, the Lokpal, in a move the government hopes will deflate a protest movement whose leader Anna Hazare has tapped into widespread anger at corrupt public officials.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government has been at the receiving end of middle-class frustration with everyday graft and multi-billion dollar scandals in Asia's third largest economy, a state of affairs that forced the government this summer to agree to pass anti-corruption legislation before the year end.
The bill was passed after a rowdy debate, with the main opposition party voting against it and several others walking out. It may now be held up in the upper house, where the government coalition does not have a majority.
In a sign of the rough ride the legislation will likely get in the upper house, the government failed to get the two-thirds majority it needed to make the bill a constitutional amendment.
Hazare, 74, who began a three-day fast to coincide with the parliamentary debate, wants the Lokpal to have greater powers to investigate high ranking scammers. He says the protests will continue unless his demands are met.
Seen as a hero by many, Hazare swept to national prominence this summer when tens of thousands came out in support of his two-week hunger strike after months of news about corruption scandals damaged India's image as an emerging power.
Among the worst cases were a telecoms license scam that cost the exchequer $39 billion, according to one government probe, and rampant financial misdealings around the shambolic 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Hazare's health was in question on Tuesday just hours after he started his fast, with TV saying he may need to be hospitalized. Doctors visited the protest site in India's financial capital Mumbai and took blood samples for testing.
His support has flagged in recent weeks, with the government's apparent willingness to bow to many of his demands taking the sting out of his arguments that nothing is being done. Accusations of financial misdeeds by his aides and infighting have also taken their toll.
