JOIN USThe high-decibel debate on Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill virtually turned the Rajya Sabha into a courtroom battle as legal eagles put up amongst their best-ever performance on the floor of the House.
The packed house on Thursday witnessed arguments and counter-arguments of some of the eminent advocates, amidst skirmishes on some of the clauses in the proposed anti graft ombudsman.
Knowing that constitutional experts can dissect the new law to their very best, parties fielded their finest legal minds to put forth their respective arguments.
While Leader of Opposition Arun Jaitley initiated the debate from the BJP and tried to corner the government by highlighting the loop holes point by point, government pitted Abhishek Singhvi to counter his eminent Supreme Court colleague.
While the eloquent Jaitley did receive appreciation from members of opposition for his arguments, Singhvi too got accolades from members from his party for his defence of the Bill.
Though another leading advocate and Human Resources Development Minister Kapil Sibal did not speak, he was prompting Singhvi to highlight some of the points to counter the saffron party leader's arguments.
Leading criminal lawyer and former law minister Ram Jethmalani triggered a storm when he said a former Indian prime minister figured in the list of Indians having stashed away black money in foreign banks.
"A Swiss magazine published the names and pictures of 14 people who have their stash hidden away. It's a shame that the 14th person was India's then PM," Jethmalani said, while speaking on the anti-graft Lokpal bill.
The remark, an oblique reference to former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, triggered an uproar. Furious Congress MPs wanted the noted criminal lawyer to withdraw his remark.
He said the government didn't have the courage to pursue black money details even as they had been made public.
Other known advocates such as Satish Mishra from BSP, Tiruchi Siva (DMK) and Sukhendu Sekhar Roy from TMC also placed their arguments effectively.