Constitutional Amendment Bill on Lokpal defeated

New Delhi: In a major embarassment for the ruling Congress, UPA failed to pass the constitutional amendment bill in the Lok Sabha due to lack of 2/3 majority in the house. Even after managing to push through the anti-ombudsman bill in the Lok Sabha, government failed to garner 2/3 majority required for the constitutional amendment.

Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar said that "The motion for passage of Constitution Amendment bill becomes infructous as all three clauses were negated in the voting in the division."

Disappointed and distressed after the setback, Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee termed it as a "Sad' day for democracy and sad day for institution."

Out of the ten amendments moved by the government, seven have been accepted by the Parliament.

Expressing their dissent against the passage of the bill, AIADMK, Left parties and BJD walked out of the house soon after the voting.

Earlier, unimpressed by the UPA's 'trouble-shooter,' Pranab Mukherjee's speech, Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party staged walkout from the house ahead of the voting on Lokpal Bill.

Terming the government's form of Lokpal bill as a "weak" legislation, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav said, "We had demanded a strong Lokpal. It is not strong. It is sarkari Lokpal. There is no meaning to it. It was brought in a hurry and under Anna Hazare's pressure."

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