Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the floor leaders of the Rajya Sabha on Friday that the Centre would come forward with an amended version of the Lokpal Bill, taking into account the suggestions made by the Opposition and the constituents and supporting parties of the ruling UPA.
Dr. Singh's assurance is a clear indication of the shift in the government's stance.
The Bill, which has already been passed by the Lok Sabha, was virtually deferred in the Rajya Sabha in the winter session as the ruling combine did not have the numbers to ensure its passage.
Though Dr. Singh and leaders of most parties desired that the Bill be passed in the second phase of the budget session (beginning from April 24), the chances of its passage are not bright, given the divergent views among various parties on some of the contentious issues.
R.C. Singh of the CPI, who took part at the meeting, told The Hindu that most of the Opposition parties and the UPA's ally, the Trinamool Congress, were emphatic that the clauses relating to the setting up of the Lokayuktas should not infringe on the rights of the States.
In its current form, the Bill places the Lokayuktas under Article 253 of the Constitution. Several parties are opposed to it on the ground that the law enacted under the Article is mandatory and leaves the States no leeway to exercise their discretion. They favour that the chapter on the Lokayuktas be deleted or placed under Article 252. The CPI wants the Centre to enact a model law for the States.
There was consensus among a majority of members on the need for either placing the CBI under the jurisdiction of the Lokpal or creating its own investigative wing. Also, most members are not happy with the Lokpal selection process.
The government is vehemently opposed to the idea of giving the Lokpal jurisdiction over the CBI. There was a suggestion from Samajwadi Party leader Mohan Singh to refer the Bill to a select committee. However, there was no response from the Opposition to the idea.
Though most of the members in the Rajya Sabha have an issue with the selection process of the Lokpal, there are differences among them on the exact procedure.
Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley and CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said the government should not have the sole say in the appointment and removal of the Lokpal and demanded wider representation for the Opposition and independent institutions.
On the existing provision to bring all NGOs within the ambit of the Lokpal, Mr. Jaitley said that while foreign-funded NGOs could be under its scanner, private NGOs and institutions such as schools and hospitals run by NGOs could be kept out. Mr. Yechury and Mr. Singh wanted inclusion of corporate houses.
Minister of State in the PMO V. Narayanasamy said the government was hopeful of passing the Bill in this session itself. “We have come to a stage where [the] views of various political parties have been heard...now the government will take a decision on how to pass this Bill by consensus.”
Keywords: Lokpal Bill, all part meet, budget session, anti-corruption, Team Anna
A strong Lokpal Bill is need of the hour. Hope all political parties would come to a consensus.
Glad to hear this but i pray and wish that opposition must co-operate with GOVT to pass lokpall because its matter of COUNTRY please don't polticise this matter and also its a request to team anna that ye ANSHAN karne ka drama band kijiye please dont make yourself a pupet of oposition parties.
It shows that PM is dedicated to eliminate corruption from country and this is a strong message to those who feel that PM is not serious about lokpall they should understand that passing a bill is not a joke it may take time and we agree with policies of govt in lokpal.
At the end of the day whatever parliament approves can be law nothing more nothing else. However, would be sad if Lokayukta provisions are removed as 95% corruption happens in states.
At any cost a LOK Pal bill must be tabled and passed at this session as UPA needs to counter the perception that UPA is shielding the corrupt. Any how Lok Pal will become another white elephant and we would need a Super Lok Pal.
If the Indian polity is really serious about bring a strong and effective (workable too) Lokpal then its intentions can be understood by its vehement opposition to Independent CBI.
Lokpal and Lokayuktas will just be additional drains on the exchequer if we do not remove corruption from politics. Politicians, especially from Congress that must be credited with inventing and institutionalizing corruption, need to be cleansed first. The multi-party democracy model allowing coalition Govts has only added to corruption. We hardly have any corruption-free institution or establishment left now. The custodians of constitution have become corruption-supporting agents. We need to switch restrict the number of parties to two and have direct election for PM. The posts of President, VP and Governors should be abolished. The cost of secretariats for parliament and assemblies must be brought down. Reservation of any kind should be abolished. Merit-cum-poverty based schemes should be rolled out to cement the ever-widening chasm between the haves and have-nots.
Instead of creating another behemoth organisation like the Lokpal ,
the Govt. and people should be concerned in improving the already
present bureaucratic establishments. How can a Lokayukta or Lokpal do something which a person who goes through proper educational and professional training and becomes an IAS officer can't do in a corrupt society. It is not another organisation that will solve corruption , but transparency bills like RTI which will make people more inclusive in the admin process of the country.
We can keep on adding bills like Lokpal , but they will not do any good until the system which already exists is fixed and that will be done only and only through educating the people about their rights. Education alone could make the people understand whom to select in elections and how to fight for their rights. How can the masses fight for something they ave no knowledge of ? Will Lokpal bill make the masses smarter ?
Right from the beginning the Government has shown no sincerity in
pleasing the public except present a verbal game to please the
great Aam Aadmi.Anyone with intelligence will show that people
remain the same whether rich and poor and rich are more grasping than
the poor.The captains in our college are more interested in taking every
possible freebie and they behave worse than the ordinary faculty who
will bother about izzat and decency.So much for education and greed.
lokpal and lokayuktas are no doubt the need of the hour. tough laws if
implemented impartially will definitely be an effective deterrent. but
at the same time the ombudsmen should not be misused to black mail the
oficials. the corrupt should be punished, at the same time incentivise
the government officials accordingly to market linked rational pay
scale, so that they dont resort to corruption.
lokayukt in state is as much necessary as in centre.i feel difficulty to understand why these political parties are not getting consensus over lokpal bill as whole india is in favour of strong lokpal bill. these parties just want to do politics whether it is upa or left any. i think politician are afraid of a strong lokpal bill because most of them are corrupted any way. every citizen of india want an effective lokpal bill then why not these 700-800 constituent.
Strong Lokpal is very much important for transparent and inclusive society. Corruption is prevalent not only among politicians and bureaucrats but also among the corporates. In each and every mega scams the instigators are Big Corporates.For strong Lokpal the corporates should brought under the preview of Lokpal. But Anna Hazare is silent in this front.
All parties will never even think to pass a strong lokpal as all the politician knows what they have done in last SIXTY YEARS.
why Lokayuktas should be Removed ? if Opposition want to fight corruption at central government ? why Not with State government...since PDS (Public distribution system) is Handled by state governments...Lokayuktas is a Must..to tackle corruption at state level..
Founders of the Constitution have not expected this situation. Today if not all most of the politician are corrupt. We people of India asking corrupted lawmaker to make a law that is going to punish them for breaking the law. Politicians are not willing to do that. This is evident from acts and deeds of law makers since Anna movement. Under these circumstances President should intervene and to ask the lawmakers to make the laws Indians asking for. We spend huge money on conducting the local to federal elections. We could use small fraction of this money for conducting the referendum on issues like this. Number of people on streets during Anna movement was one of the indicators that Indians want a strong Lokpal that can prevent corruption in Indian political system. Living with hope, one day Yes we can.
No consenus met in this meet. Its has been before and now clear that BJP is playing politics, not allowing Govt to table the bill in the RS and get constitutional rights. BJP is clearing taking advantage of the situation and trying to create bad for Congress led Govt. It shows arrogance of BJP that Govt has to accept their demands to include else they won't let this pass in RS. Mr.BJP Ministers, Is what you call a "Constructive" oppn Party? Is this why you sit in Parliment to demolish every good thing that the Govt try to introduce?? Its time to conduct yourself better, else you will be in tought a lesson.
All the parties are doing nautanki of meetings... they all ran from
rajya sabha at 12 in night...Why the politicians should decide the kind
& fate of lokpal? it is a matter of conflict of interest. Lokpal must be formed by the president of india,supreme court & not the political parties. They will never make a strong lokpal because they itself are looter of our country. India is growing despite the politicians and not due to politicians.
Not only Big Corporates but also bring "Cooperative Housing Societies" under LOKPAL
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