New Delhi ( CNN ) -- India 's parliament on Saturday debated demands by a 74-year-old anti-corruption activist in what an opposition leader called a `` historic occasion '' for lawmakers to come together in the fight against graft . The discussion came on the 12th day of campaigner Anna Hazare 's hunger strike calling for a powerful Lokpal , or citizen ombudsman , to deal with massive bribes and kickbacks . Talks with the government hit a roadblock over three of his demands , which include bringing members of India 's lower bureaucracy under the new watchdog . The federal government put the case before parliament . Sushma Swaraj , leader of the opposition in the lower chamber of the national assembly , said her group agreed with the three points . She called Saturday 's sitting a `` historic occasion , '' saying tens of thousands of Hazare supporters expect effective mechanisms to tackle corruption in their daily lives . A similar debate was also under way in the upper chamber -- the house of elders -- in India 's parliament . It was , however , not immediately clear when legislation to establish a Lokpal would be passed . Saturday 's meeting of the Indian parliament aimed at eliciting opinion of the federal legislature , composed of ruling and opposition parties , over setting up a tough anti-corruption institution . Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee initiated the debate , describing it as an opportunity to show political will to handle corruption . `` I am sure that members of this house will seize this moment and demonstrate the commitment of the house in dealing with corruption which is gnawing at the vitals of our polity , '' Mukherjee told parliament . Hazare 's fast -- a tactic adopted by India 's independence leader Mahatma Gandhi against the colonial rule -- has also drawn criticism . On Friday , lawmaker Rahul Gandhi , whose mother heads the governing Congress party , warned parliament not to allow the nation 's democracy to be undermined , in an apparent disapproval of the high-profile hunger strike . `` Individuals have brought our country great gains . They have galvanized people in the cause of freedom and development . However , we must not weaken the democratic process , '' Gandhi , who is tipped by Indian media as a future prime minister , said in a speech . He thanked Hazare for articulating what he called larger public disillusionment with a system plagued by endemic corruption . But in his address , the 40-year-old general secretary of the Congress party cautioned against pressuring elected bodies . `` This ( democratic ) process is often lengthy and lumbering . But it is so in order to be inclusive and fair . It provides a representative and transparent platform where ideas are translated into laws , '' Gandhi said . `` A process divorced from the machinery of an elected government , or this house , that seeks to undo the checks and balances created to protect the supremacy of parliament sets a dangerous precedent for a democracy , '' he told lawmakers . Three of Gandhi 's ancestors -- Jawaharlal Nehru , Indira Gandhi and his father , Rajiv Gandhi , -- have served as the country 's prime minister in the past . Echoing current Prime Minister Manmohan Singh 's views that any institution alone can not eradicate corruption , Gandhi described the proposed Lokpal as just one tool in the fight . `` Witnessing the events of the last few days , it would appear that the enactment of a single bill will usher in a corruption-free society . I have serious doubts about this belief , '' Gandhi said . `` An effective Lokpal law is only one element in the legal framework to combat corruption . The Lokpal institution alone can not be a substitute for a comprehensive anti-corruption code . A set of effective laws is required . ''
Lawmakers debate the demand on the 12th day of Anna Hazare 's fast . Talks with the government hit a roadblock over three of his demands . Opposition leader says her group agrees with Hazare 's outstanding demands . Score: 7