All-party meeting: No consensusin Lokpal Bill

Mtoday news / NDTV

New Delhi, July 3:  The making of the Lokpal Bill has seen a series of unsuccessful meetings between the government representatives and civil society members of the drafting panel. And today’s meeting of all political parties  at the Prime Minister’s residence failed to evolve a consensus that the Government would have hoped for.

In his opening remarks, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that the government is committed to a Lokpal Act which provides for strong, effective, quick institutional arrangement for tackling corruption in high places.

 

 

"Good law and strong institution is necessary to tackle corruption but these alone would never suffice. Lokpal has to work in harmony with other institutions and laws; it has to function within the framework of basic structure of Constitution," said Dr Singh.

Opposition parties put the ball back in the Government’s court, urging it to bring an official draft, which can then be discussed.

Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, BJP’s Sushma Swaraj said, "We did not discuss specific provisions of the bill in today’s meeting. We clearly said we want a strong Lokpal.  The government should bring a bill and send it to the standing committee so that all the parties can give their points of view." (Watch)

A joint resolution at the end of the meeting said, " The All Party Meeting agreed that Government should bring before the next session of Parliament a strong and effective Lokpal Bill following the established procedures."

Opposition parties slam Team Anna

Opposition parties also slammed Team Anna. CPM’s Sitaram Yechury said, "Parliament’s supremacy can’t be hijacked by dharnas and fasts." A key costituent of the UPA, the Trinamool Congress, observed that the "civil society was not limited to Delhi only."


But activists say the anti-civil society mood was expected. Kiran Bedi, a close associate of Anna Hazare in his campaign for the Lokpal Bill, told NDTV, "The Government went to meeting unprepared. They should have cleared it with the Cabinet then gone for the all-party meeting."

Ms Bedi added," We can’t guarantee Anna won’t fast again, but we see now a sense of urgency."

The Lokpal Bill is intended to help rout corruption among politicians and bureaucrats. Five ministers and five activists led by Gandhian Anna Hazare were assigned to draft the Bill. But so dramatic were the differences between the two sides that India now has two drafts of the same Bill.

Both the sides have had eight rounds of meeting so far. The key sticking points are the inclusion of the Prime Minister and the higher judiciary under the ambit of the bill, something that Team Anna has been demanding from the very beginning.

Apart from Anna Hazare and his team of activists, today meeting was  attended by parties across the political spectrum. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Left parties (CPI and CPM), Janata Dal (United) (JD-U), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK), Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Trinamool Congress, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Telegu Desam Party (TDP), Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), and Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) attended the meeting. Shiv Sena and Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S), however, stayed away. 


PM in Lokpal? Opposition Divided

The lack of consensus could prove to be a major headache for the Government which is already at loggerheads with members of the civil society in the draft panel over various points, primarily, the inclusion of the Prime Minister and the higher judiciary under the purview of the Lokpal.

This is a point which also has the Opposition divided - Left parties, AIADMK have said  they want the Prime Minister to be included in the Lokpal, but parties like the TRS, SAD and the DMK are opposed to any such move. AIADMK at today’s meeting said frivolous complaints against the Prime Minister will derail the process.


Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/lokpal-bill-no-consensus-at-all-party-meeting-116485&cp