Will Lokpal Bill ever see the light of day? Wednesday, May 23, 2012

The passage of anti-corruption bill has been further delayed as the government has referred the controversial bill to a select committee of Rajya Sabha. The bill was first introduced in 1942 but lack of political will has stalled it for all these years. Also, the White Paper on black money presented in Lok Sabha gave little information about the ill-gotten wealth stashed in Swiss banks. Is the government serious about wiping out corruption from the system or it is just another ploy to fool the public? Speak Up explores... The law will not be passed before monsoon session The government has referred the Lokpal Bill to a select committee of Rajya Sabha, which has been given time to deliberate on it till the first day of the last week of monsoon session. It is now evident that the law will not be passed before the monsoon session that will get underway in August. Even if it is passed, it will have to go back to Lok Sabha because it is a revised bill. That will postpone the bill till the winter session of Parliament. It is all a hazy picture.As for the White Paper on black money, it actually is a jet black paper. A White Paper is supposed to highlight the pros and cons of the issue and provide options to deal with it. I doubt even the estimate figure of black money stated by the White Paper as provided by Swiss National Bank is up to date. The fact is that no names of bank holders have been disclosed in the paper. The committee seems to recommend one more amnesty scheme, which will hardly have any response.