One of the Aam Aadmi Party’s big-ticket promises, establishing a powerful anti-corruption watchdog by enacting the Jan Lokpal Bill, remains in limbo as a recent Right to Information (RTI) reply revealed that the legislation is pending with the Delhi government.
Govt’s reply
In reply to an RTI query by The Hindu , the Delhi government’s Administrative Reforms Department on May 21 said: “...as per the file monitoring system of this Secretariat, the file relating to Jan Lokpal Bill is presently in the O/o [office of] Minister, Law GNCT [Government of the National Capital Territory] of Delhi and other at Law & Judicial Department, GNCT of Delhi [sic.]”.
“The file has gone back and forth between the Centre and Delhi government. The clarifications sought are not clear,” Delhi Law Minister Kailash Gahlot said when asked for comment.
In another RTI reply, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs declined to give the status of the legislation, saying on March 28 that the “Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, 2015, is under consideration”.
The MHA said the status of the Bill could “not be provided at the present stage” in its April 25 reply to an appeal against the first reply.
Passed on December 4, 2015, the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, 2015, was sent for approval to the Centre, which returned it to the Delhi government in 2016 along with about a dozen other legislations, citing lack of prior approval.
Reacting to the MHA’s returning of 14 Bills, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejrwal had on Twitter asked whether the Centre had the right to stall the Bills.
Since then, some of the pending Bills have been re-worked by the Delhi government on advice of the Centre and passed by the Assembly again. The Jan Lokpal Bill, however, is not one of those.
Languishing in depts
Two Delhi government officials with knowledge of the file confirmed that it was with the State government currently.
Another government official added that the file had been with different departments of the State government for about a year.
In limbo since 2015:
- Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill, 2015, was introduced in the State Assembly on November 30, 2015. It was passed on December 4, 2015.
- The Bill was sent to the Centre for final nod but it was returned in June 2016, along with 13 other Bills.
- While the AAP accused the BJP government of stalling the Bill, the Home Affairs Ministry said prior approval was not taken for the legislation.
- In RTI replies the MHA said the status of the Bill could not be provided. The Delhi government said the Bill is with its Law Minister and department.
