The Bharatiya Janata Party is determined to derail the government's ambition to get the Lokpal bill passed in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday and then in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday as lawyer-turned Rajya Sabha opposition leader Arun Jaitley has already lined up 29 amendments for the party, with some more in the pipeline.
The line-up includes 10 big ticket amendments like the Lokpal's "control" over the central bureau of investigation (CBI), prosecution by the CBI through a separate prosecution wing instead of the Lokpal being the final arbiter and no mandatory compulsion on the states in the matter of the Lokayuktas.
Notwithstanding human resources development minister Kapil Sibal claiming that the states were free to have their own Lokayukta law, the BJP leaders point out that the bill is very explicit that the state law on Lokayukta will have to be either amended or repealed to bring in conformity with the central law.
The BJP has also given notice of amendment to remove the reservation based on religion in the nine-member Lokpal on the ground that it is unconstitutional and would lead to demand for similar quota in other constitutional bodies like the supreme court, comptroller and auditor general and election commission.
The party sources said the government has so many in-built skids in the Bill it tabled in the Lok Sabha on Friday that it would be impossible to pass it quickly as it wishes to. The new bill is much different from the original bill. The constitutional status slipped in and it deserves scrutiny by another parliamentary standing committee instead of the parties' logjam in Parliament, sources said.
"The BJP will move amendments on issues we do not agree with. We are custodians of a strong and effective Lokpal. Congress is not honest in its intentions and policies. It moves two steps ahead and four steps backward on the issue," party spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters.
Besides an amendment to bring the CBI under the Lokpal's ambit, the party is forcing to bringing corruption by the group C employees also under the Lokpal instead of the CVC examining it. It is also opposing the Lok Sabha speaker and a jurist picked up by the President of India in the Lokpal selection panel, wanting them replaced with the supreme court judges.
Nor is it ready to buy the provisions for selection of the directors of inquiry and prosecution from within a group of the government nominees as the party leaders said they are the key persons and should be selected through an independent procedure.
One of the amendments moved by the BJP is to delete Clause 14 bringing the civil society under Lokpal as deemed public servants even if any NGO, society, temple or mosque trusts or schools and colleges get Re 1 as donation. Nor does the party agree with a non-transparent manner of the Lokpal inquiry against the Prime Minister proposed under Class 14(1)(ii).
Another BJP amendment is to remove the provision for suspension of MPs and MLAs without trial by sending the Lokpal reports to the speakers and requiring action within 90 days. The BJP's case is that any action should be only after one is convicted and not just because a chargesheet is filed against him.
The party also opposes the mechanism of the citizens complaining through the government and wants the supreme court to have powers to hear citizens' complaints for removal of the Lokpal chairman and members instead of the president having the powers to do so after making a reference to the supreme court.