Lokpal divides government

With little clarity over several aspects of the proposed Lokpal bill including its ambit, the drafting process of the legislation has run into problems with many constituents of the UPA wanting the prime minister to be covered by the Lokpal while others seem to be uncommitted either way.

Fighting corruption charges, the ruling UPA has been accused of being slow and reluctant to react with the first UPA meet on Lokpal held only a couple of days ago where divisions were clearly in evidence.

These pertain to the  inclusion of the prime minister, on which the Congress allies differ, with Congress not in favour of the prime minister being included in the ambit of the Lokpal, while DMK in favour and the SP, BSP non-committal.

Analysts say given the three way nature of the battle with the Congress v/s its UPA allies v/s the opposition, building a consensus would be a tough proposition. They added that things seem to be not looking too good, with the opposition more eager to force the government on to the back foot rather than creating a corruption watchdog.

The knotty issue of whether the prime minister should be covered under it remains unresolved even as Anna Hazare has threatened to launch another fast starting 16 August. Meanwhile, Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh has threatened Anna Hazare's group of the same treatment that the government had meted out to Baba Ramdev, when the yoga guru was forcibly removed to Haridwar after the police was used to break agitation in New Delhi, earlier this month.

The Congress-led UPA government, had in April agreed to set up a drafting committee to discuss the formation of a Lokpal (Ombudsman), after Anna Hazare undertook a fast to press for a Lokpal bill.