The much controversial Lokpal Bill, which was introduced in Parliament on 4th of this month, has been sent to Parliamentary Standing Committee for in-depth scrutiny. No other bill in the recent past has evoked so much controversy as the one govt. presented in the Parliament. The government for the first time constituted a Joint Drafting Committee consisting of five representatives each from the government's side and the civil society represented by Gandhian Anna Hazare.

At the drafting stage of the Bill itself the civil society members differed with government members on several issues. However, the government introduced the bill amidst protests from civil society and the main opposition BJP party. The bill has been sent by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari to the Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances and Law and Justice which has been given three months to submit its report, a Parliament source said. Congress leader Abhishek Singhvi, who is a senior advocate, was recently appointed the head of the committee in place of Jayanthi Natarajan who became a minister in the recent reshuffle.

It was earlier hoped that the Standing Committee would examine the bill within this month so that it could be taken up in the current session itself. Now the bill may have to wait till Parliament's winter session is commenced. Albeit, the relentless Anna Hazare is still planning to go on an indefinite fast from August 16 against the draft Lokpal Bill.