The Rajya Sabha Select Committee, chaired by Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi, will have its first meeting in New Delhi on Monday to narrow down differences among political parties on the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill.
The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to interpret Leader of Opposition provision for the purpose of appointment of Lokpal in which LoP is a selection committee member and asked the Centre to make its stand clear within two weeks, saying the legislation cannot be put in "cold storage".
The fresh plea has sought a direction to the Centre for appointment of the Lokpal.
The contentious anti-corruption Lokpal bill will come up for discussion next month in Parliament after the ongoing one-month recess of the budget session, Union Minister V Narayanasamy said on Sunday.
Maintaining that it was against the "principle of protection", the Law Ministry has opposed a provision in the Lokpal Bill which gives the ombudsman power to file charge sheet against a public servant without the prior sanction of competent authority.
The government will go ahead with the appointment of chairperson and members in Lokpal once search committee rules are amended, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.
Government has so far not carried out a full assessment of the personnel that will be required to staff the proposed institution of Lokpal, a Parliamentary panel has been informed.
Former AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan said the Bill was completely different from the one envisaged originally.
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.
The Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre on a petition filed by an NGO questioning the entire selection process for appointment of chairperson and members of the Lokpal and seeking its stay.
Anna Hazare has thanked Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for his "commitment" to the passage of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, while demanding inclusion of recommendations of the select committee in the bill.
Senior advocate P P Rao was earlier appointed as an eminent jurist in the committee but the post became vacant after he passed away last year.
The government and the opposition are heading for yet another faceoff over constitution of the selection panel for the maiden Lokpal, with the Bharatiya Janata Party opposing the prime minister's proposal to appoint senior lawyer P P Rao as its fifth member.
Addressing reporters at his residence soon after the meeting ended, Chowdhury said six names came up before the panel for the selection of the two ECs and the names of Sandhu and Kumar were finalised by a majority of members of the high-powered panel.
The Lokpal Bill is likely to be introduced in Rajya Sabha on November 29, according to a highly-placed source. The Congress Party's confident manner towards the approaching winter session indicates the party's decision to use the bill as a political weapon to ensure that the Bharatiya Janata Party refrains from disrupting Parliament sessions.
Uncertainty prevails over the much-talked about Lokpal Bill being brought up for consideration in the monsoon session of the Parliament beginning on August 8.
Rejecting allegations that the government sprung a surprise by referring the Lokpal bill to a select committee of the Rajya Sabha, Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal said political parties were consulted before taking the move.
The government on Thursday amended the controversial Lokpal Bill, de-inking it from the setting up of Lokayuktas in the states and transferring powers of sanction of prosecution against public servant to the ombudsman. The Union Cabinet accepted 14 of the 16 recommendations made by the Rajya Sabha Select Committee, which was set up in May last year amid sharp differences among political parties, because of which the legislation has been stuck in the Upper House.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday targeted the United Progressive Alliance government over delay in bringing Lokpal Bill before the Rajya Sabha as the winter session is inching towards its end and demanded a reply.
It said no payment has so far been made towards rental charges for the Lokpal office at 'The Ashok' hotel.
Anna Hazare on Wednesday broke his nine-day fast at his village Ralegan Siddhi shortly after Lok Sabha passed the Lokpal Bill, and announced he would form "watchdog bodies" comprising people of "impeccable integrity" to keep an eye on how the law is enforced.
'The CBI and its independence was discussed in great detail. We invited and sought the views of the CBI director as well as several government officials. But the ingenious solution to the problem came from within the committee. The effort was to somehow find a solution. It would not have been possible to draft this Bill if members had not been liberal in their views and if they had not been prepared to rid themselves of their political bias.' Congress MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi, who headed the Parliamentary committee which proposed the recommendations for the Lokpal Bill, speaks to Anita Katyal in an exclusive interview.
The much-awaited Lokpal Bill today got the assent from President Pranab Mukherjee, providing for the creation of an anti-graft watchdog which will bring even the prime minister under its purview with certain safeguards.
The much-awaited anti-corruption measure Lokpal was tonight one step short of becoming a law with the government sending the bill to President Pranab Mukherjee for his assent.
"I have a given a notice for discussion on Lokpal in the Rajya Sabha. The Business Advisory Committee will decide on the date for discussion," Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions V Narayanasamy told PTI.
Bhushan questioned the appointment and removal processes of the Lokpal laid out in the bill, which was recently cleared by the Aam Aadmi Party cabinet, saying they would put the ombudsman at the mercy of the city government.
Seeking to give a big push to the Lokpal Bill, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday appealed to all political parties to support the legislation saying it is a "very very powerful instrument" in the fight against corruption.
The Centre on Saturday invited applications for appointment to the post of chairperson and members of the anti-graft watchdog, Lokpal.
The anti-corruption Lokpal Bill was brought back to the Rajya Sabha on Friday in an amended form but its consideration was thwarted by Samajwadi Party, an outside supporter of the UPA government, which disrupted proceedings.
Delhi assembly on Friday passed the Janlokpal Bill, incorporating suggestions of Anna Hazare, which provides for an ombudsman with powers to act against any government functionary.
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.
After much delay, the landmark Lokpal Bill was on Tuesday passed by the Rajya Sabha, marking a step closer to enactment of a new law under which an anti-corruption ombudsman would be set up.
Announcing his agitation, Hazare has asked the Centre to "show courage" in bringing in the bill in the Winter session of Parliament, beginning from December 5.
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare said on Friday he will start a 'satyagraha' in New Delhi on the first day of winter session, for the passage of Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament.
Days ahead of the retirement of present Central Bureau of Investigation chief, government introduced a bill in Lok Sabha to include the leader of the largest opposition party in the panel to select the head of the agency in the absence of a recognised Leader of the Opposition in the House.
Softening his stand on the Lokpal issue, Anna Hazare on Saturday suggested moving ahead with the amended Bill presented in the Rajya Sabha and said improvements in the legislation could be brought through amendments later.
The new draft aimed at checking political and administrative corruption, which was presented to the government at the joint drafting committee meeting on Lokpal, retained the original provision to bring judges of the higher judiciary within the ambit of the Lokpal, notwithstanding the reservations of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.
The bill was passed without discussion as the Opposition had staged a walkout over the alleged scam in the Teachers' Eligibility Test.
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 Delhi Cabinet on Friday decided to call a special session of Assembly to take up the Jan Lokpal Bill, which seeks life term as maximum punishment for corrupt babus, on February 16 at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium instead of historic Ramlila ground as announced earlier.
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