It has taken 46 years for the Lokpal Bill to come up for a serious debate in Rajya Sabha and finally passed.



It is ironic that political parties, which did not want to touch the Bill, clamoured for credit to approve and pass the bill.



Reaching a remarkable consensus at the all-party meeting on Monday, they all wanted to impress upon the people of the country that they are serious about fighting corruption.

Rajya Sabha passes Lokpal Bill. PTI Rajya Sabha passes Lokpal Bill. PTI

The performance of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi Assembly elections has spurred all parties to take up cudgels against corruption, or at least appear to be doing so. (The BJP is now worried about allowing tainted Karnataka leader B.S. Yeddyurappa back into the party. They are reluctant to forge an alliance with Om Prakash Chautala's INLD.The party cannot afford to be seen getting cosy with the corrupt and the convicted.As Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said, "We need to restore faith in public life and create an effective mechanism to deal with corruption. It is important that we provide for an effective Lokpal legislation."Though most opposition parties -- BJP, BSP, CPI (M), AIADMK, DMK and JD (U) - have minor problems with the Bill in its present form, they are not willing to obstruct it anymore.After eight failed attempts at passing the Bill, several fasts-unto-death by Anna Hazare (including an ongoing one) and his protege Arvind Kejriwal, and a people's movement of India Against Corruption (IAC), the Bill is now seeing a ninth attempt.

File Photo: Anna Hazare during his fast for the Lokpal Bill. PTI File Photo: Anna Hazare during his fast for the Lokpal Bill. PTI

By all indications it appears it is going to be a successful one. After Rajya Sabha, the Bill will come in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. It is only the Samajwadi Party (SP) which is opposing the Lokpal Bill, saying that it will lead to indecision as officers and lawmakers will hesitate to take action, fearing the Lokpal. Not wanting to be a party to passing of the Bill, the SP MPs walked out of the Rajya Sabha.Initiating the discussion on the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011 on Tuesday, Law Minister Kapil Sibal said that it was a "historic" day and it was time to celebrate the consensus that had been reached on the issue.Urging cooperation from all parties, he said it was not the time for politics on the issue.Jaitley, however, could not resist taking a pot-shot at the Congress while speaking on the debate, reminding the party of its strong opposition to the Bill less than two years ago.While the political parties seem to be on course to pass the Bill with consensus, it is a bitter irony that the two men who spearheaded the movement - Anna and Kejriwal - are now on different pages on the issue. While Anna is "happy and satisfied" about the revised and diluted Lok Pal Bill that is being debated in Parliament, Kejriwal has opposed it, terming it as "Jokepal."Buoyed by the electoral success of his party, Kejriwal, at a press conference on December 15, expressed surprise at Anna's approval of the Bill and said that his "guru" was being misguided. He vowed to continue his struggle for the strong and effective Jan Lokpal Bill.According to Kejriwal, Congress was just trying to pass on the credit of Lokpal Bill to Rahul Gandhi, and that the party was misleading the people of the country."The Lokpal Bill, in its current form, won't send a mouse to jail, forget a politician," said the AAP leader. He apparently wants to keep the issue alive and make it a poll plank in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.