Pranab to represent Cong. at all-party meeting on Lokpal

Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will represent the Congress at the all-party meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday to discuss the Lokpal issue.

“Pranab Mukherjee will represent the Congress at the all-party meeting today,” a senior AICC leader said.

Mr. Mukherjee had represented the party at similar meetings in the past.

The meeting will be held at the Prime Minister’s Race Course Road residence to discuss matters related to the Lokpal Bill.

Pranab to brief Congress MPs

Meanwhile, Mr. Mukherjee will hold a special briefing for the Congress MPs in New Delhi on Thursday, with a number of party leaders raising questions on the handling of the Anna Hazare issue.

The decision comes in the backdrop of sections of party members voicing reservations over the government’s Bill on Lokpal and holding Mr. Hazare’s arrest a “wrong” decision.

Replying to questions about the meeting, the AICC media department chief Janardan Dwivedi said,”It’s a briefing of the party MPs by Pranab Mukherjee on the issue of Lokpal.”

Mr. Dwivedi added this is not the general body meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party as such.

Mr. Mukherjee is likely to brief the MPs about the events that led to certain government actions over the issue amid growing concerns among the party MPs over the fallout of Mr. Hazare’s anti-corruption agitation in their constituencies.

Young MPs like Sandeep Dikshit, Priya Dutt, Sanjya Nirupam, Naveen Jindal and others have voiced their concern over the issue. While Mr. Dikshit had dubbed Hazare’s arrest a “wrong” move, Ms. Dutt has found fault with the government’s Lokpal Bill dubbing it as “weak“.

Party MP from Bareilly Praveen Singh Aron has already submitted a copy of Mr. Hazare’s Jan Lokpal Bill before the Standing Committee, headed by Abhishek Singhvi, which is examining the Jan Lokpal Bill.