What will be India’s agenda this year?

Political and electoral drama, probably even a mid-term election? Long-delayed economic reforms and a renewed attention on growth? Or just a rerun of the Lokpal debates that dominated 2011 without yielding the desired result?

If their response to Team Anna’s third round of protests in Mumbai is anything to go by, the people have spoken. People care about corruption, as their previous support demonstrated, but they don’t want the Lokpal debates to crowd out their lives.

To Anna’s credit, he quickly grasped the message. He called off his fast a day ahead of schedule, even though his own health was an additional factor. The social activist also indicated a smart change of tactic. His team will focus on urging people to punish the Congress Party in forthcoming elections, rather than beat the Lokpal Bill to death.

Why, then, are the political parties still flogging the Lokpal issue?

This is because almost every political party has been disingenuous in its handling of the Lokpal Bill and is therefore keen to score brownie points (but with whom?).

The Congress blames the BJP and others for the fiasco in the Rajya Sabha when voting failed to take place after a debate; the Bharatiya Janata Party blames the Congress for “murdering democracy” by calling off the vote and adjourning the upper house; the Trinamool Congress blames the Congress for “reneging” on a promise to remove clauses that impinge on the power of states before presenting the bill in the Rajya Sabha; and the communist parties are merely using the opportunity to attack archrival Trinamool.

It may be best for the nation if the current Lokpal Bill is never passed. This is because it is too flawed to make any impact on fighting corruption. To name just two glaring loopholes, the appointment of the 9-member institution of the Lokpal is still controlled by the government through nominees to the selection panel; and the Lokpal lacks investigative and prosecutorial powers.

If the opposition is smart, it will step back and let Congress battle its own ally, Trinamool Congress, over the Lokpal bill. After all, the Congress could be damned if it passes this bill and damned if it doesn’t. It would behoove parties such as the BJP to set a wholly different agenda that resonates with the people, and pressures the Manmohan Singh government, as they wait for the next general elections in which the Lokpal can again be a powerful campaign issue.