ACCEPT THE LOKPAL BILL It is much better to accept the Lokpal bill with limitations and with the view to bring in subsequent modification. The constitution of India, a more sacred document has been amended umpteen times to reflect changes It may not be possible to get all the clauses accepted and expect the Politicians to be tied in knots. They will always want a safety escape from the clutches of any legislation. It is a fact that over ten years , Lok pal Bill has not seen the light of the day for one reason or the other There is no guarantee that the envisaged Lokpal Bill will really clean the stables of all corrupt practices in one master stroke. There are many legislations, which are ineffective due to lack of will of implementation The CBI, the Police, Judiciary have all well defined boundaries of statutes, yet they are found wanting in exercising their roles effectively For once and with great reluctance the UPA Govt. has at least ,for the first time has acceded to the wishes of the civil society in involving them in drawing the contentious piece of legislation .This is in itself is a major victory for the public voice, which also has been promised to be placed in Parliament. The passing of the bill is in the legitimate domain of the Parliamentary process and is subject to their preferences The passage of reservation of the women bill is hanging in limbo, due to constraints of numbers in the Lok Sabha, even though it is passed in Raj Sabha. The fate of the Lokpal Bill is similarly bound by controversies and instinct of self preservations of the legislators and their germane interests to pinch by inch in every situation. Even now the UPA Govt., in spite of solid assurances is raising technical obstacles of conferring it with the opposition and even referring it to the opinions of states before bringing the Bill in Parliament. Generally before any Bill is introduced in the Parliament gthere is no consensus , consultation with the opposition Then why in this case only the special procedure is suggested? These are clear indications of delaying the process as long as it is possible. For political mileage ,the main opposition Parties outwardly are openly siding with the civil society with all their might. Their support in the Parliament will alone show their true colours and intentions in actions .A second fast will not have the same force , enthusiasms, spontaneous participation as earlier. The UPA Govt. is spreading canards about absolute rigidity of the civil society and using the media at its disposal to divide opinions, mislead,and confuse . At the same time arguing that there is broad agreement on almost most of the issues, portraying civil society in bad light .Besides Digvijay is on record of threatening a Ram DEv like actions of force and might of the law enforcers, The politicians are the masters of the art of deceit, vilifications, character assassination, defamations of the members of the civil society to punch their effectiveness. This approach is already seen in operation through oblique remarks of political functionaries in power. Hence it may be wise to allow the bill to be presented and passed in the parliament and at the second phase press for meaningful omissions of clauses, instead of allowing at putting the blame entirely on the civil society citing adamancy and lack of flexibility, accept the bill with all its inherent omissions and nail the Gov.t. lies and misinformation , smear and maliciouscampaign Nelson Lopes Chinchinim 9850926276
