Union Minister of State in the PMO V. Narayanasamy on Sunday said the government would speed up the process of appointment of the Chairman of Lokpal (anti-graft body) and its eight members.
“The selection process has been set in motion from today and we will see that it is completed at the earliest,” he told The Hindu over phone.
The Lokpal and Lok Ayuktas Bill, 2013, passed by the parliament on December 17 and became an Act after the President gave his assent on January 1, was notified on January 16. On January 17 the rules and procedures under the Act, were notified.
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The Minister said his Ministry had already invited applications for appointment of Lokpal Chairman and eight members with February 7 as the cut-off date.
The Act provides for creation of anti-graft ombudsman to investigate corruption charges against public functionaries including the Prime Minister, the Ministers and the Members of Parliament.
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Among other provisions, the Bill makes it incumbent upon States to make within a year their own law for setting up the Lok Ayuktas on the lines of the Lokpal.
The five member select committee — consisting of the Prime Minister, the Lok Sabha Speaker, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, the Chief Justice of India or his nominee and an eminent person to be appointed by the President of India — will set up a search committee to shortlist the applicants for appointment of Lokpal Chairman and eight members.
The search committee will consist of seven members including administrators, law enforcement agencies, bankers, judicial officers, legal professionals and eminent persons in public life. The committee will pursue the short listed names and send its recommendations to the President for approval of the names of the selected persons, the Minister said.
The committee would have not less than 50 per cent of its members from the OBC, SC and ST communities and women, he said.
In the nine-member anti-graft watch dog including the Chairman, four posts of its members are reserved for those from the judiciary and the remaining four to non-judicial persons.