NEW DELHI: Parliament adopted the 'Sense of the House' on the three demands raised by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare by thumping of the desks on both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha on Saturday in a special sitting. Both Houses debated the Lokpal Bills for more than eight hours and were adjourned till Monday without voting on the three demands put forward by Team Anna. The resolution was not voted upon as the discussion was not held Rule 184.
Anna Hazare will be conveyed 'Sense of the House' through Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar. Hazare, who has been on a fast since August 16 demanding a strong Lokpal to fight corruption, will break his fast at 10 AM on Sunday.
"Parliament has spoken. The will of Parliament is the will of the people," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.
There was no formal voting on the demands, only a thumping of desks. Anna will break his fast on Sunday.
"It was a Sense of the House in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha which was reflected in thumping of desks by members. On the basis of Sense of the House, we can request Hazare to end his fast," said Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
The discussion came to an end after more than eight hours of debate on the Lokpal Bills in which 27 speakers participated in the Lok Sabha, with many of then delivering stirring speeches and acknowledging Hazare’s agitation for bring the issue of corruption to the centrestage.
There were a lot of twist and turns during the day with frequent changes in the stand of both the Government and Team Anna over the final wordings of the resolution and whether it would be voted upon or not.
Details of resolution:
This House agrees in principle on following issues for an effective and strong Lokpal: 1) Citizen's charter, 2) Lower bureaucracy under Lokpal through appropriate mechanism, 3) Establishment of Lokayukta in states, 4) Further resolve to forward the proceedings of the House to the Standing Committee for its perusal while formulating its recommendations for a Lokpal Bill.