India's anti-graft bill fails to pass

Indian government's bid for the creation of an anti-corruption watchdog has failed after the measure could not garner the support of representatives in the upper house of parliament. Acrimonious debate on the draft law continued into midnight local time (18:30 GMT) on Thursday with hundreds of changes put forward. The 243-member Rajya Sabha adjourned amid scenes of chaos without voting on the bill after 14 hours of heated discussion. The Lokpal bill, which grants authority to a new ombudsman to prosecute politicians and civil servants, was passed in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, on Tuesday. India's ruling party, Congress, does not have a majority in the upper house of parliament but tried to unite its coalition partners, particularly its unpredictable regional ally the Trinamool Congress, in favor of the law. However, the governing party could not get the desired result. The failure to pass the bill is a setback to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, which earlier this month was forced to withdraw another major legislation that banned foreign supermarkets in India. The anti-corruption law has been a major issue in India for months, the bone of contention between the government, the opposition and civil society activists. Following the adjournment, the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to resign, accusing his government of dysfunction. Prominent anti-graft campaigner Anna Hazare staged a 12-day hunger strike in August to demand a strong law to eradicate widespread corruption in Indian public life.