Appealing to social activist Anna Hazare to end his fast for the passage of the Lokpal Bill, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V Narayanasamy on Thursday said unless parliament functions, the passing of the bill is difficult.
"Anna Hazare is a veteran person. He had written three letters to the PM, and, on his behalf, I replied to him. I told him about the status of the bill. I appeal to Anna Hazare on the government's behalf to end his fast because he knows the parliamentary procedure. Until and unless parliament comes to order, passage of the bill is difficult," said Narayanasamy.
Elucidating on the status of the bill, he said, "The bill is pending in the Rajya Sabha, and the select committee of the Rajya Sabha gave 13 amendments. The government and the Cabinet accepted most of the amendments. After this, the bill was represented in the Rajya Sabha. I gave a notice to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha to take it up for discussion and debate, so that it can be passed."
"Today, under the Business Advisory Committee (BAC), the bill was deliberated and the government recommended that the bill should be taken up immediately. We want the support of all political parties, as the bill was already discussed for 12 hours on earlier occasions. The Prime Minister also directed me that the bill should be passed as soon as possible," he further added.
He also cleared the government stand on the bill, and said: "Until and unless parliament functions, we will not be in a position to pass the bill. Today, I appealed to various members of the parties and the BAC that the bill should be passed at the earliest."
The demand for a Lokpal Bill was seen as a revolutionary anti-graft movement, which in 2011 not only drew tens of thousands of Indians united against corruption onto the streets, but also stopped parliamentary proceedings and dominated the headlines for days on end.
But 18 months on, India Against Corruption (IAC) - a popular movement led by a group of the country's prominent social activists - have split due to the decision by some members to move from activism into politics.
The IAC movement, launched in December 2010, marked the first time in India that both the poor and the middle classes were united against corruption in such large numbers.
Over the past year, India has been transfixed by a campaign led by Anna Hazare to force the government to create an ombudsman, which would prosecute corrupt politicians and bureaucrats.
Hazare's initial hunger strike brought millions of sympathisers out on streets and forced the government into a series of humiliating U-turns.
But "Team Anna" had lost some steam. When Hazare launched his third hunger strike in Mumbai, just before the New Year, very few turned up and he had to call it off prematurely because he was ill.
The proposed bill envisages the setting up of a national anti-corruption watchdog to check financial mismanagement and corrupt practices that have deeply pervaded several democratic and civic institutions of India.
