Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said on Tuesday his government is committed to a strong Lokpal bill and hopes it will be 'successful' in passing it soon.
"As you know, we are committed to a strong Lokpal Bill. And we hope that we will be successful in our endeavour in the near future," he said in his letter to Anna Hazare, written in Hindi.
He said his government was working on an 'exhaustive agenda to fight corruption and improve governance'.
Meawhile, in a related development, Law Minister Salman Khurshid revealed the proposed Lokpal will have the status of a Constitutional authority for which purpose the Constitution will be amended.
"We are working on a very strong Lokpal Bill. A Lokpal Bill that will come with a Constitutional amendment. That amendment will give the Lokpal the status of a Constitutional authority," he said.
The Lokpal will be 'more powerful than the Election Commission' and 'will have far greater powers'.
Its profile and stature will be 'much higher', Khurshid said.
A Lokpal, with the status of a Constitutional authority, had been proposed by Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi during his intervention on a debate on the subject in Lok Sabha last month.
Khurshid acknowledged that the move was in line with Gandhi's suggestion.
"He is very committed to that and he believes that it is a very important step we must take because Lokpal is no ordinary institution," he said. The Law Minister said the proposal had not yet been formally considered by the Union Cabinet but the sense in the government and the party was for a Lokpal that will have Constitutional status.