Lokpal Bill will go for Cabinet OK next week
The government will place the controversial Lokpal Bill before the Union Cabinet for approval next week, human resources development minister Kapil Sibal, a member of the joint drafting committee, said on Friday.
Mr Sibal said the Cabinet will discuss the question of bringing the Prime Minister within the bill’s purview before it is introduced in the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning August 1.
The minister said “some suggestions” were made at the all-party meeting on bringing the PM’s office under the Lokpal’s purview, but added that it was still the view of the five ministers who were members of the joint committee, including himself, that the PM should be kept out of the Lokpal’s jurisdiction.
Civil society members led by Anna Hazare have, meanwhile, initiated a “referendum” on the Lokpal Bill in Mr Sibal’s Lok Sabha constituency — Chandni Chowk — with pamphlets and a two-page questionnaire distributed to residents seeking their views. Mr Sibal rubbished the move, saying “is neither a referendum nor a survey. It is an internal exercise by a civil society group to build up their own confidence.” Mr Hazare and his followers are expected to begin an indefinite fast from August 16.
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