Announcing his agitation, Hazare has asked the Centre to "show courage" in bringing in the bill in the Winter session of Parliament, beginning from December 5.
If different versions of the bill are passed and one of the Houses refuses to accept the amendment by the other, the President can summon a joint session of the two houses which is presided over by Lok Sabha Speaker. The bill can be passed by simple majority.
In the midst of continued stand-off between the government and civil society activists on the proposed Lokpal bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday met President Pratibha Patil and briefed her about the efforts being made to resolve the issue.
Unfazed by the resistance from the government and some quarters to the civil society's demand for inclusion of prime minister in the ambit of the proposed Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare on Tuesday asserted he would not hesitate to fight against Opposition parties that did not support a strong anti-corruption ombudsman.
The biggest problem today is that all political parties have become united, which is disastrous to the cause, says Justice Santosh Hegde.
A Team Anna member said the working group of the Team Anna met to discuss the situation against the backdrop of the moves by the government
Alleging that the Congress government at the Centre was cheating Anna Hazare on the Lokpal Bill issue, Baba Ramdev on Tuesday said that he would campaign against the parties opposing to bring back the black money stashed away in foreign banks.
Underlining the role of civil society movement led by Anna Hazare in drafting the Lokpal bill, President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday said this was the first time that a law was made with public participation, hitherto an exclusive domain of legislature.
"Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal had said the discussion on the Lokpal Bill will only take place on Monday. But to our utter surprise we got a call that Sandeep Dikshit (Cong MP) will initiate the debate on Lokpal in five minutes. The government wanted a casual debate on such an important and serious issue," Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is all set to skip the all party meeting on Lokpal convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on July 3, a party source has said.
The government is planning a special Parliament session in mid January next year for the Lokpal Bill as the Bharatiya Janata Party has a majority in the Rajya Sabha, sources told rediff.com.
Take a look at the highlights of the draft Lokpal Bill and let us know if you can spot any loopholes in the draft and suggest corrective measures
Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Thursday contended that the Parliamentary Standing Committee recommendations on Lokpal Bill will only help in making the ombdusman an "Enquiry Pal" with no powers at all. Bedi said Anna Hazare and his supporters did not fight for such an anti-corruption watchdog.
Janata Party chief Dr Subramanian Swamy slammed Team Anna on Thursday for 'insisting a new law to deal with corruption and bring the premier investigating agency under the Lokpal'. The government's Lokpal Bill is likely to be introduced in the Parliament on Thursday afternoon, which has already been opposed by Team Anna.
Sharp differences came to the surface at a meeting of the drafting committee for Lokpal bill on Monday with the government strongly opposing proposals for inclusion of prime minister, higher judiciary and acts members of Parliament inside Parliament under its purview.
Lashing out at Abhishek Singhvi on the draft Lokpal Bill, Team Anna on Wednesday accused the Congress leader of disrespecting Parliament by going against its commitment of including lower bureaucracy and Citizens' Charter in the ambit of the ombudsman.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj on Thursday justified her objection to exclusion of prime minister from the purview of the Lokpal bill saying the government has given no reasons for his exemption and insisted that nobody was above criminal law.
Rediff.com reporters spoke to employees of the lower bureaucracy to know what they think of all the commotion surrounding their inclusion in the Lokpal bill.
Anna Hazare's major demand is set to be met with the government on Thursday deciding to have a discussion in the Lok Sabha on Friday on the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Replying to a a questionnaire consisting of 20 questions on key issues on Lokpal Bill sent to him by the NGO India Against Corruption, Bollywood actor Aamir Khan has given his thumbs up for the draft version put forward by Anna Hazare and his team.
In the second and final part of his analysis of the draft Lokpal Bill, Union Minister Kapil Sibal lists out how the Lokpal could be detrimental to the functioning of the judiciary and the exucutive
Demanding a strong Lokpal bill against corruption, nine non-National Democratic Alliance opposition parties including the Left, Telugu Desam Party and Rashtriya Lok Dal on Tuesday staged a protest at the main gate of Parliament.
Contrary to Anna Hazare team's description of government's Lokpal Bill draft as a "very big hoax", Swami Agnivesh, an associate of the Gandhian's anti-graft campaign, on Friday termed the latest draft as an "improvement" of its 2010 draft.
The government on Tuesday came under intense pressure from political parties to include the office of the prime minister, Group C and D employees and the anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau Investigation within the purview of the Lokpal Bill.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will on Thursday submit a note of dissent on the draft Lokpal bill to Abhishek Singhvi, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee going into the Lokpal Bill.
Strangely, the Lokpal Bill drafted by all sides is silent on these two powerful sections of our society that continues to shape, reshape and de-shape public opinion. Is that why the media and the NGOs are vociferously supporting the Lokpal Bill? Asks M R Venkatesh.
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare will observe fast unto death from Tuesday until the government enacts a comprehensive law such as the Jan Lokpal Bill to tackle the menace.
An overwhelming majority of MPs think that in less than five years the Lokpal will become the most corrupt institution in India. Sheela Bhatt reports.
The much-hyped Lokpal Bill could be tabled in Rajya Sabha in the ongoing monsoon session if a parliamentary panel looking into the legislation gives its report before the end of the session, the government said on Thursday.
Amid sharp differences in the Parliamentary Committee examining the Lokpal Bill on a variety of issues including bringing Prime Minister under its ambit, panel chairman Abhishek Singhvi has called a fresh meeting on Thursday evening.
No consensus was reached at the all party meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the Lokpal issue.
The government has now agreed to make public the audio recordings of proceedings of the joint drafting committee constituted to draft the Lokpal Bill.
In a fresh bid to end the deadlock over Lokpal Bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has called an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss the proposed legislation, which could not be passed on the last day of the winter session in Rajya Sabha amid pandemonium.
The much-awaited report of the Parliamentary panel that examined the Lokpal Bill has left the final decision -- about the inclusion of the prime minister's post under the aegis of Lokpal --- to the House. The report, along with 16 dissenting notes, was submitted and tabled in Parliament on Friday.
A new Lokpal Bill will be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday and the existing one withdrawn.
Veteran social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday accused the United Progressive Alliance government of stabbing in his back on the issue of Lokpal Bill and once again threatened hunger strike from October 2 to press for a strong anti-corruption law.
The Rajya Sabha Select Committee, chaired by Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi, will have its first meeting in New Delhi on Monday to narrow down differences among political parties on the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill.
Team Anna on Wednesday voiced hope that the government will deliver on Sonia Gandhi's promise of bringing a strong Lokpal bill in Winter Session of Parliament or else, the activists warned, they will hit the streets again.
Watch all the action in the Lok Sabha, LIVE!
Sheela Bhatt traces how Parliament's Standing Committee on the Lokpal Bill is giving final shape to its report, finds out what the key clauses could be and discovers the political difficulties in finalising a complex legal issue before the winter session ends.
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