Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday called on President Pratibha Patil and exchanged views on the current ‘political situation.'
The meeting comes two days ahead of an all-party conference convened by the government to discuss several contentious issues on framing the Lokpal Bill and amid speculations in the media of an imminent reshuffle of the Union Council of Ministers.
With the President scheduled to travel to Hyderabad on Saturday for a week-long annual retreat, the much anticipated ministerial changes are unlikely till at least July second week.
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A brief statement by the Rashtrapathi Bhawan said: “The meeting lasted for about 45 minutes. The two leaders discussed about the forthcoming monsoon session of the Parliament and the current political situation. They also discussed various other issues of national and international importance.”
In an interaction with a group of editors on Wednesday, the Prime Minister skirted questions on a possible Cabinet reshuffle. “That is a work in progress. I cannot tell you. I cannot predict,” he had said.
On the Lokpal Bill, Dr. Singh had said that while personally he had no hesitation in coming under the purview of the institution, many of his ministerial colleagues and legal luminaries were opposed to the idea. The government would work to evolve a consensus on the Bill. “I would like the guidance of the political parties. Some Chief Ministers had spoken. Jayalalithaa has spoken. Others have spoken. Badal sa'ab has spoken. So there is obviously a divergence of opinion in the country. We have to find a way out. I recognise we need this Lokpal Bill. Even though, I don't believe Lokpal is a panacea”.
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In the monsoon session of Parliament, scheduled to commence from August, the government intends to move several important Bills, including the Lokpal and legislative measures to put economic reforms on fast track.
In the current year, the government was not able to push through any legislative business. The entire winter session was lost due to the stand-off between the government and the Opposition on the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on the telecom issue and the budget session had to be cut short on account of elections to five State Assemblies.