Dubbing the Lokpal Bill introduced by the government in Lok Sabha as "weak", The Bharatiya Janata Party on Thursday said it will move amendments against provisions like reservation for minorities, which it maintained is unconstitutional, and bringing the Central Bureau of Investigation under the ombudsman.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Wednesday suggested that corporates and NGOs should also be brought under the purview of the Jan Lokpal bill.
The Delhi assembly witnessed unprecedented noise and cacophony on Friday as Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal made a fervent attempt to table the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Differences seem to have cropped up within the civil society group over the demand for inclusion of the prime minister and higher judiciary in the Lokpal Bill. Baba Ramdev said he is opposed to such a move.
In an apparent show of unanimity, the report of the Select Committee on Lokpal Bill, which has recommended delinking creation of Lokayuktas in states from the central bill, is scheduled to be tabled in the Rajya Sabha on Friday by Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party.
Notices have been given by various members for discussion in the Lok Sabha on various versions of Lokpal Bill, but it is not clear when the debate will be taken up.
Affirming that there was a "lot of scope for give and take" on the Lokpal Bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the government was open to "discussion and dialogue" on the issue.
We had asked our readers to suggest ways to resolve the stand-off between the United Progressive Alliance government and Team Anna Hazare on the proposed Lokpal Bill draft. The responses.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has convened a special meeting of the Congress Working Committee on Friday at 4 pm to discuss the Lokpal bill which has been consistently in the news for the last couple of months. Sources say the ongoing Telangana agitation is also expected to be discussed.
Putting up a brave front after it failed to muster the numbers in the Rajya Sabha, the United Progressive Alliance government on Friday said the Lokpal Bill will "definitely" be brought before the Rajya Sabha during the Budget session even as Congress leader Digvijay Singh defended the move saying extension of the House on Thursday night was not possible.
Disappointed over the draft report of the Standing Committee on Lokpal Bill, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi has warned that going back on the commitment given by Parliament would encourage a mass movement again. When asked for her comments on the draft report which sought to keep lower bureaucracy out of the ambit of the ombudsman, Bedi said, "This is going back on the commitment and will call for mass movement again".
Government and civil society exercise to work out an agreed draft of the Lokpal Bill ended in failure tonight after which Anna Hazare announced that he will go ahead with his fast from August 16 to "teach the government a lesson".
Software icon N R Narayana Murthy on Saturday backed Anna Hazare's movement against corruption and favoured the Prime Minister's Office and the judiciary coming under the ambit of the Lokpal Bill. The chairman and chief mentor of Infosys also supported people's movements taking to the streets to demand an end to corruption."I think in a democracy, pluralism is inevitable. It has to be there. That is what makes democracy stronger," Murthy told reporters.
The Centre on Saturday invited applications for appointment to the post of chairperson and members of the anti-graft watchdog, Lokpal.
Most of the parties concur with Hazare's demands for inclusion of Prime Minister, lower bureaucracy and CBI's anti-corruption wing under Lokpal. However, they did not favour bringing higher judiciary under the ombudsman and argued for a separate mechanism to check corruption in it.
Fresh controversy has erupted with regard to the Lokpal Bill with some members of the Bill drafting committee deciding not to take part in the next meeting.
The chief ministers of Congress-ruled states have toed the Centre's line on the Lokpal bill opposing bringing the prime minister under its ambit while those from states where Bharatiya Janata Party is in power have sought wider deliberations before a final view is taken.
Vicky Nanjappa and Sharat Pradhan ask a few intellectuals on the campaign against the Bhushans and what happens next.
In a House of 243, the ruling United Progressive Alliance has the clear support of 101 members and needs at least another 21 members to ensure a simple majority for the bill
Law Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of not speaking about its problems with Lokpal Bill before the debate on it in Rajya Sabha and sought to know from the party why it did not ask for the legislation to be put to vote with limited discussion.
As it finalises the Lokpal Bill for moving it in Parliament next week, government is open to many suggestions made at the all-party meet, including bringing the prime minister under the purview of the ombudsman with certain safeguards and 50 per cent quota for SCs, STs and others.
Seeking to galvanise public opinion in favour of its version of Lokpal Bill, the Anna Hazare team on Thursday initiated a "referendum" on the law in Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency represented by Human Resources and Development Minister Kapil Sibal.
While the Centre said that the amendment bill is pending in Parliament to include the leader of largest opposition party, a bench headed by Chief Justice T S Thakur said that Parliament, by not amending the law, cannot frustrate the mandate for appointment of Lokpal.
Team Anna on Tuesday said extension of Winter Session of Parliament will be worth only if a strong Lokpal Bill is brought with Central Bureau of Investigation out of government control.
Communist Party of India - Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury on Friday blamed the Congress-ed government and its allies for the chaos in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday night, which led to the adjournment of the House sine die without the passage of the Lokpal Bill. He lashed out at the Congress and its ally Trinamool congress for "engineering" a situation which made it impossible to transact any business.
Key United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress on Thursday night termed the developments in the Rajya Sabha while debating the Lokpal Bill as "orchestrated chaos" and a "black day" for democracy.
A group of senior ministers On Monday "cleaned up" the draft of the changes in the Lokpal Bill, which Law Minister Salman Khurshid says will be introduced in Parliament during the current session.
Denying reports that Anna Hazare had close connections with the late Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangha leader Nanaji Deshmukh, key Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday said it was part of Congress' "tactics" to divert attention from the Lokpal Bill.
WATCH LIVE! Ruckus over Lokpal Bill tabled in RS
Ninety-four-year-old Gandhian Shambhu Dutt, who ended his fast-unto-death demanding Lokpal bill after Team Anna's promise to shoulder the campaign, says he now regrets his decision to hand over his fight to Anna Hazare and his core committee of "yes men".
Civil society activists led by social activist Anna Hazare on Monday boycotted the meeting of the joint drafting committee on the Lokpal Bill saying government's intentions raised serious doubts about having a strong anti-corruption watchdog and protesting against the police crackdown on Ramdev.
As serious differences over various provisions marred the drafting of the Lokpal Bill, civil society members on Wednesday invited government nominees for a public debate on contentious issues, which could be telecast live on TV.
Justice Santosh Hegde on Saturday indicated that he may not resign from the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill after Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's statement that the government was looking forward to enacting a strong anti-corruption legislation.
As he prepares to go on a three-day fast for a strong Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare and his team on Sunday shot off an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and MPs urging them to make the best possible law which includes provisions for an independent investigative wing for the ombudsman.
Anna Hazare is likely to be present in the viewers' gallery of the Parliament when the Lokpal Bill would be tabled and discussed, sources close to him said in Mumbai on Friday.
Activist Anna Hazare will soon write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking his views on having an annual performance audit of the Members of Parliament.
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.
Forty-two years after it was first introduced, the Lokpal Bill will be tabled for the ninth time on Thursday.
A former Delhi chief secretary and currently Delhi's public grievance commission chairman has warned the prime minister not to strangle the 'doers' in the bureaucracy and paralyse the government while the 'non-doers' go scot free in the euphoria over ushering in a strong anti-corruption ombudsman.
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