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NEW DELHI: Trial in corruption cases against public servants will be completed within two years, with Lok Sabha on Tuesday passing amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act . Rajya Sabha had cleared the bill last week.

Besides a time-bound trial, the new law makes bribe-giving an offence punishable with up to seven years in prison. However, the bribe giver will be entitled to immunity if he makes a representation within seven days of the act that he was coerced into giving the bribe.

Minister of state for personnel Jitendra Singh told Lok Sabha that the government was open to increasing to two weeks the period during which a bribe-giver could give a representation in exchange for immunity.

Interestingly, the debate in Lok Sabha turned into political sniping, with NDA ally Shiv Sena launching an attack on BJP and the Centre, albeit without naming them.

Amid heightening tensions between the allies, Sena MP Arvind Sawant asked for an "honest answer" if demonetisation had succeeded in its objective of curbing black money, terrorism and corruption. "How did 600 people die, how did soldiers die… have some shame, we have failed in all this, yet we talk about it," he said.

Using the fable of Valmiki who turned into a saint, Sawant said "they" were accepting corrupt people and calling them clean. "How many cases are pending in ED? Political leaders are being told that you join us and ED will not proceed against you," he said.

Sawant also referred to an advertisement by a big telecom company which used the picture of PM Narendra Modi , mocking that the "poor" industrialist was fined a mere Rs 150 for the violation. The Sena member lamented that the same industrialist's proposed institute had been given the tag of 'institute of eminence'.

He demanded that the PM should campaign in elections as an ordinary MP, arguing that a PM belonged to the entire country but campaigned for a party on tax payer's money. The Mumbai MP also alleged a "gap between word and deed".

