Anna Hazare, fasting for the last five days for passage of Lokpal Bill, on Saturday said he was happy with the amended legislation presented in the Rajya Sabha and would call off his hunger strike the moment the law is enacted.
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday questioned the Centre's decision of sending two drafts of Lokpal Bill for consideration and demanded that the government be clear before seeking states' views on the proposed legislation.
'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.
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.
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.
It will be a touch-and-go affair in the Upper House, remarked a senior Congress leader underlining that there were many ifs and buts for the bill to be passed
Cautioning that lack of political consensus on many issues was impeding rapid economic growth, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said time has come to view development processes as matters of national security.
Hazare said he was giving the government six months time till August to come good on its assurance and warned that his protest will again begin in September if the demands were not met.
A wasted exercise, a total flop show and not to mention a total failure: This is how Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santhosh Hegde, member of the Lokpal Bill drafting panel, described the final outcome following the last meeting of the committee with the government.
Team Anna member N Santosh Hegde on Friday blamed all political parties for non-passage of the Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha, saying it was "choreographed by everybody".
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.
The government on Wednesday night exuded confidence to get the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, despite not having a clear majority.
Justice Ghose, who retired from the Supreme Court in May 2017, is a member of the National Human Rights Commission.
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.
Congress on Wednesday hailed party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's "key role" in the passage of the historic Lokpal Bill, which was cleared by Parliament, while asserting that it was committed to bringing in an anti-corruption code in the country.
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.
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.
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 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 also said it seems the new policy will encourage liquor sale and consumption and spur corruption.
Gujarat Lokayukta Justice R A Mehta's resignation letter is a stinging indictment of the Narendra Modi government's obstructionist attitude towards a constitutional watchdog.
Arvind Kejriwal's most awaited Lokpal bill may remain just a poll promise. The proposed Lokpal cannot exercise any police power, say advocate Vishwanath Chaturvedi.
Hazare, 81, had started his indefinite fast on January 30 over appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan on Tuesday said the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government stands 'exposed' after it compiled a proposal to amend the state's Lokayukta Commission Bill to leave the Lokayukta powerless, extracting all prosecutorial powers from the position.
Hazare has been on a hunger strike since Wednesday demanding appointment of anti-corruption watchdogs at the Centre and in Maharashtra.
The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday said it found considerable merit in three contentious issues raised by Team Anna, including covering the entire bureaucracy and Citizens'Charter for public grievances under Lokpal and favoured Lokayuktas in the states.
With the bill giving constitutional status to the Lokpal defeated in the Lok Sabha, Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Wednesday took potshots at the Bharatiya Janata Party and Team Anna, asking Anna Hazare whether his colleagues would stage a dharna in front of LK Advani's residence pleading with the BJP not to oppose it in the Rajya Sabha
The debate over the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, has caused an internal rift in the party, and Kalyan Banerjee is upset that some of his party leaders are questioning his stand over it.
The way appears to have been cleared for Anna Hazare to end his fast possibly on Friday when Parliament will discuss the Jan Lokpal Bill along with other civil society drafts on the subject after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the ice-breaking offer.
A day after asking Anna Hazare not to fast from August 16 if a strong anti-corruption bill is not prepared, Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, a Lokpal Bill drafting committee member, on Sunday expressed solidarity with him saying that they had no differences.
Aam Aadmi Party-led Delhi government is locked in a power struggle with the Centre and the Lt Governor. Kavita Chowdhury reports
In a novel suggestion, A P J Abdul Kalam on Monday favoured that the post of President be brought under the purview of Lokpal.
Many claim they fear witch hunts for disagreeing with those in power.
Both Houses of Parliament were adjourned sine die on Wednesday, bringing the Winter Session to a close two days ahead of schedule
The White Paper, which was tabled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha, also did not provide government's estimate of black money, within and outside the country, though it quoted various estimates of other agencies on the issue.
The month-long winter session of the Lok Sabha, which witnessed turmoil on several issues including FDI in retail, was adjourned sine die on Thursday
The 97-page document tabled by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made a strong case for setting up Lokpal and Lokayuktas. Though, there was no was mention of government's estimate of black money within and outside the country, it pitched for courts to expeditiously deal with the offence.
Describing the passing of Lokayukta Bill in Uttarakhand as a "revolution" in governance, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Wednesday said their campaign in Hisar bypolls has paid dividends though some of them had to face "bitter" experiences due to it.
Stepping up the attack on the ruling AAP over the 2015 Delhi Janlokpal Bill, ousted party leader Prashant Bhushan on Sunday said that the proposed legislation is "completely" different from its previous 2014 version.
Anna Hazare's fast entered into the 12th day on Saturday as Parliament is all set to discuss the Lokpal issue which could lead to the Gandhian calling off his hunger strike.
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