Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said that his office has been kept under the purview of the Jan Lokpal Bill, whose broad contours have been finalised, and the bill will be taken up in the cabinet early next week.
Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Monday said activist Anna Hazare was "overestimating" his version of the Jan Lokpal Bill. Singh also sought a comprehensive strategy to tackle corruption. "I think he is overestimating the Jan Lokpal bill. Corruption can only be removed if there is a comprehensive strategy by the judiciary, bureaucracy, police and government," Singh told reporters. "Just passing the law will not help any one. Corruption will not be removed only by Lokpal."
The Delhi government on Wednesday cleared the Jan Lokpal Bill, paving the way towards creating the post of an anti-graft ombudsman, which it claimed was similar to the one proposed during the Anna Hazare movement, and will table it in the Assembly soon.
Slamming the demand for a Jan Lokpal Bill to battle corruption, Karnataka Governor H R Bhardwaj on Friday said corruption can be checked only through a strong democracy and not through an "extra-constitutional body" like Jan Lokpal.
Former chief justice of Delhi high court A P Shah, who was named by Arvind Kejriwal as an internal Lokpal of India Against Corruption, on Saturday termed the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by erstwhile Team Anna as "too draconian".Addressing a conference of state Lokayuktas, Shah favoured setting up of a strong Lokpal to contain corruption in the country but criticised the Jan Lokpal Bill, saying certain provisions of it were not within the limits of the Constitution.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday met Lt Governor Najeeb Jung and discussed various issues relating to the Jan Lokpal Bill. Sources said Kejriwal apprised Jung of his government's views on introduction of the bill in the assembly.
Appealing to Anna Hazare to end his fast, the government on Wednesday said it has forwarded Jan Lokpal Bill to Parliament's Standing Committee for consideration and it is up to it to take a decision.
Anna Hazare on Tuesday began his indefinite fast at his village in Maharashtra to press for immediate passage of Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament even as Government said it was serious about getting the anti-graft measure passed in the current session itself.
With the Aam Aadmi Party's deadline of passing Jan Lokpal Bill nearing, the Delhi government on Tuesday said its draft was being finalised and it would be cleared in a cabinet meeting on Friday.
Social activist Medha Patkar on Wednesday expressed confidence that the Jan Lokpal Bill, now being studied by a Parliamentary Standing Committee, will finally come into effect as it has public support.
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said their fight for a strong Jan Lokpal Bill was in the decisive stage and advocated the path of non-violence for achieving the objective.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday questioned the Aam Aadmi Party -led Delhi government's "hasty" move to push for passage of Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly and said.
Unfazed by the solicitor general's opinion, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said he would write to the Lt Governor Najeeb Jung on plans to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill without the Centre's concurrence.
The battle for Jan Lokpal and corruption-free India will commence from Patna in January, social activist Anna Hazare said on Wednesday.
The Jan Lokpal Bill is likely to be approved by the Delhi Cabinet on Tuesday as its draft has almost been finalised by a panel headed by chief secretary.
Hazare said the Congress should understand the reality after the serious drubbing it received in the just-concluded assembly elections and ensure the passage of the Lokpal Bill in the winter session of Parliament which is underway
Indian Against Corruption led by Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal will undertake a survey on Jan Lokpal Bill in Uttar Pradesh seven districts, including Rae Bareli represented by Sonia Gandhi, and constituencies of members of Parliament who are on the standing committee scrutinising the measure.
Today, in addition to Aam Jan Lokpal, the country seeks liberation from non-governmental institutions which takes birth due to legislations passed by British Parliament in 1860 and 1882. Gopal Krishna explains.
Today, in addition to Aam Jan Lokpal, the country seeks liberation from non-governmental institutions which takes birth due to legislations passed by British Parliament in 1860 and 1882. Gopal Krishna explains.
Bharatiya Janata Party member of Parliament Varun Gandhi, who proposed to move the Jan Lokpal Bill as a private member's bill, believes that as a parliamentarian this was the best way he could help Anna Hazare's movement.
Making it clear that there will be no let-up in his crusade against corruption, Anna Hazare on Sunday asked people not to vote for MPs who have opposed the Jan Lokpal Bill in the next general elections and "gherao" their houses even as he announced to undertake a nationwide yatra including states where assembly polls are due.
Activist Anna Hazare on Monday accused the Centre of not keeping its promise about passing the Jan Lokpal Bill and said he will sit on an indefinite hunger strike in his hometown Ralegan Sidhi from Tuesday for the passage of the anti-graft law in Parliament.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), led by Arvind Kejriwal, suffered a major setback in the Delhi Assembly elections, losing to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The loss marks a significant blow to Kejriwal's national ambitions and raises questions about the future of the party. The AAP had been in power in Delhi for the past 10 years and had also formed a government in Punjab. Despite the defeat, the party still holds 13 MPs from Punjab and Delhi. The article examines the factors that contributed to the AAP's defeat, including allegations of corruption, poor civic facilities, and the BJP's relentless attacks. It also explores the impact of the loss on Kejriwal's national aspirations and the party's future.
Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday came out with its manifesto for the December 4 Delhi polls, promising to enact Jan Lokpal Bill in 15 days if voted to power.
Bharatiya Janata Party Member of Parliament Varun Gandhi on Tuesday said that he had plans to introduce Anna Hazare's version of Lokpal Bill as a private member's bill in Parliament. "I plan to introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill as a private member's bill in the Parliament. I will do that next week," said the BJP Lok Sabha member from Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh.
Delhi Chief Minister-designate Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday promised to bring Jan Lokpal Bill in 15 days and termed the rule as "wrong" which makes it mandatory for a state to seek the Centre's nod to pass a law.
The Delhi Cabinet on Monday cleared the draft of the much talked-about Jan Lokpal bill which provides for covering all public servants -- from chief minister to Group D employees -- and seeks life term as maximum punishment for those found guilty of corruption.
Amid the fresh controversy in the 2G spectrum case, anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare on Friday said Home Minister P Chidambaram would have been behind bars had the Jan Lokpal legislation been in existence.
Alleging that Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress have joined hands to stall Jan Lokpal bill, Aam Aadmi Party on Saturday said its government would ensure passage of the proposed legislation in the assembly's special session without prior approval of the Centre.
Preparing for a showdown, Aam Aadmi Party government tonight said it was going ahead with tabling of the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Delhi assembly on Thursday notwithstanding Union Law Ministry's view that Centre's prior approval was required for it even as Congress and BJP held the move by the ruling dispensation as "unconstitutional".
The Aam Aadmi Party government is unlikely to table the anti-graft Jan Lokpal Bill on the first day of the assembly session beginning on Thursday.
The Delhi cabinet on Friday decided to call a special session of the assembly to take up the Jan Lokpal Bill that seeks to punish corrupt officials on February 16 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium instead of the historic Ramlila ground as announced by ruling Aam Aadmi Party earlier.
Hazare in a statement accused Kejriwal of betraying the trust of crores of countrymen and rued that political ambitions destroyed the 2011 anti-corruption movement.
Unhappy with the ultimatum set by Anna Hazare on the Jan Lokpal issue, a senior minister on Wednesday said the government is committed to bring a "strong and effective" Lokpal bill to deal with corruption but made it clear that this cannot be done by "putting a pistol on someone's neck".
In its first press meet ever since the second phase of the budget session began in the Parliament a few days ago, Team Anna on Thursday laid out how it plans to exert pressure for a strong and independent Jan Lokpal Bill.
"We propose to cover organisations like ISRO and arms deals under the purview of Jan Lokpal as they are important from internal security angle, besides the Prime Minister above all who will come under its jurisdiction," Karnataka Lokayukta N Santosh Hegde, part of the 10-member Joint Drafting Committee on Lokpal Bill, told media persons in Bengaluru.
Members of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha on Saturday debated and discussed the issue of the Jan Lokpal bill, for which activist Anna Hazare has been on a hunger strike since the last 12 days.
With several versions of the Lokpal Bill doing the rounds, the Bharatiya Janata Party is in favour of inclusion of the prime minister in the ambit of Lokpal with certain riders and agrees with most of the provisions of Jan Lokpal Bill and Aruna Roy's draft, party sources said in New Delhi on Thursday.
Anna Hazare's major demand is set to be met with the government on Thursday deciding to have a discussion in the Lok Sabha on Friday on the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Anna expressed apprehension that the Centre may pose obstructions as the legislation provides for probing corruption in Delhi, where the central government offices are located.