India's cabinet is set to debate a landmark anti-corruption bill, which was the focus of nationwide demonstrations earlier this year.<br /><br />An official in the prime minister's office said a cabinet meeting to discuss the bill had been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.<br /><br />The new legislation would establish a powerful new "Lokpal", or ombudsman, tasked with investigating and prosecuting senior politicians and other citizens suspected of graft.<br /><br />An earlier draft of the legislation prompted a 12-day hunger strike by Anna Hazare, a prominent activist, who said that version was a toothless measure incapable of curbing the rampant corruption it was meant to target.<br /><br />His campaign brought millions of Indians onto the streets in cities across the country, in an outpouring of frustration at the country's culture of bribery and kick-backs.<br /><br />The public response rocked India's coalition government, which has been tainted by a series of high-profile corruption scandals.<br /><br />The main dispute has been over who would fall under the ombudsman's ambit, with the Hazare campaign insisting that it should include the prime minister, the judiciary and lower-level civil servants.<br /><br />Hazare has threatened a second hunger strike beginning December 27 if the final version of the bill presented to parliament falls short of his demands.
