People's Democracy

LOKPAL BILL

UPA Govt Violates Norms of Democracy

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on December 30, 2011.

THE CPI(M) strongly condemns the UPA government and holds it solely responsible for the failure, once again, to give this country a strong and effective Lokpal. The events orchestrated by the UPA government leading to the abrupt adjournment of the Rajya Sabha, displays their utter contempt for parliament. It constitutes a flagrant violation of the very principle of parliamentary democracy. It is precisely because the government was facing certain defeat because of its lack of a majority to prevent the passage of important amendments being moved by the opposition to strengthen the bill that it blocked the voting by adjourning the house sine die. It used its allies in different ways to sabotage the voting.

Indeed the government’s intentions were suspect from the beginning when it brought a bill which in its main clauses gave government control over the Lokpal, thus reducing it to a sarkari institution. The CPI(M) moved amendments in both houses of parliament. Although the CPI(M) supported a constitutional amendment for the setting up of the Lokpal, it was against those clauses which militated against the federal character of the constitution. In the amendment on this issue in the bill, the CPI(M) supported the mandatory setting up of Lokayuktas in accordance with the sense of the house resolution adopted in the August session. It, however, suggested that all clauses in chapter 3 of the bill concerning Lokayuktas should be taken as guidelines, thus protecting the rights of the states to have their own legislation while ensuring that parliament’s commitment to the people of this country to have a Lokpal as well as Lokayuktas in the states would also be implemented.

The CPI(M) will continue its struggle for a strong Lokpal. It calls upon the people to strongly condemn and protest against the government’s actions.