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.
A more informed electorate, rather than the Lokpal, can fight corruption better, argues Neeta Kolhatkar.
The President's approval was required for the measure since the Lok Sabha made some amendments to The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011 before its passage.
The Department of Personnel and Training has expedited efforts to select seven members and chairperson of the Search Committee for Lokpal, official sources said.
Hardening its stand on the Lokpal Bill, United Progressive Alliance ally Trinamool Congress today ruled out any compromise on the Lokayukta provision and said the government should have faced voting in the Rajya Sabha.
The social activist has been pressing for setting up of the Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states, besides implementation of the Swaminathan Commission report, which has suggested ways to address the agrarian distress.
The meeting of the Congress Core Group was held at a time when government is scrambling for numbers to pass the Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha with Trinamool Congress insisting that it will move amendments to delete the provision for setting up Lokayuktas at the state level.
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.
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".
Opposing the United Progressive Alliance government's Lokpal Bill, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley on Thursday said we do not want a weak and hollow law.
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.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, a member of the joint drafting committee on the Lokpal Bill, on Monday said that he would not like to continue in his chair after the expiry of his five-year term in August.
Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge known for his vigorous campaign against corruption, had on Friday said that former Chief Justice of India J S Verma, would be the most ideal person for the post.
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.
Chidambaram defended the deferment of Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011 in Rajya Sabha on December 29 contending that it was the "only prudent course" before the government and that it had ensured that the Bill remained alive.
The much-debated Lokpal Bill, which seeks to create an anti-corruption watchdog, is likely to come up for discussion and passage in the Rajya Sabha next week.
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.
In yet another embarrassment to the government, former Supreme Court judge K T Thomas on Monday turned down the offer to head Lokpal search committee, days after jurist Fali Nariman opted out of the panel.
The bench posted the matter for hearing on July 17.
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.
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.
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 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.
The inclusion of the Lokayukta factor in the bill approved by the Cabinet is expected to become a sticky point in Parliament. Sheela Bhatt reports.
The new Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill and a related Constitution Amendment Bill to grant the proposed ombudsman a constitutional status were introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, withdrawing an earlier Lokpal Bill, after hours of wrangle and adjournment twice.
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.
On the eve of consideration of Lokpal Bill by the Rajya Sabha, Trinamool Congress on Wednesday mounted difficulties on the government by giving notice for amendment to the crucial legislation in which it wants references to formation of Lokayuktas to be dropped.
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.
Citing overlapping of functions, a parliamentary committee on Monday recommended integrating Central Vigilance Commission and anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation to work directly under the command and control of Lokpal to deal with corruption cases.
The Aam Aadmi Party government's plans to enact the Jan Lokpal Bill in a public venue next week faced fresh hurdles with Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran insisting that Lt Governor's prior approval is necessary while key ally Congress toughened its opposition.
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Arun Jaitley is expected to table the report of Rajya Sabha's Select Committee on Lokpal in the Upper House on Friday, the second day of the winter session of Parliament. The committee is headed by Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi and such reports are usually tabled by the chairmen of the committees. The government is expected to consider the recommendations made by the Select Committee.
Meetings of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill slated for June 20 and 21 would be a mere formality with little scope for discussion, Karnataka Lokayukta and a member of the panel Santosh Hegde said on Thursday.
The differences between the Congress and the BJP are too obvious and it seems, as expected, this Parliament is a divided house on the issue of fighting corruption.
Taking a dig at Narendra Modi, the Congress on Friday said that instead of trying to cash in on activist Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption, the Gujarat chief minister should first appoint a Lokpal in the state. Leader of Opposition Shaktisinh Gohil said, "It is an irony that Modi is talking about the campaign by Hazare when he has not appointed a Lokayukta in Gujarat". Gohil was referring to the statements made by Modi while addressing a public rally in Assam.
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.
In yet another twist, the controversial Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill was on Monday referred to the Select Committee of Rajya Sabha, further delaying the setting up of the anti-graft ombudsman which has been hanging fire for 42 years.
Karnataka Lokayukta and a member of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee Santosh Hegde on Saturday said he was apprehensive about the final outcome of the proposed bill as it could be a watered down version of what was originally envisaged.
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader Vaiko today criticised the United Progressive Alliance government for failure to pass Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha and opposed inclusion of Lokayukta in the legislation, saying it was an encroachment on the state's rights.
Welcoming the passage of Lokpal Bill in the Rajya Sabha, India Inc said that once enacted it will help weed out corruption, boost investor confidence and expedite the decision making process.
The letters by Hazare and Gandhi were released by the All India Congress Committee on Tuesday, on a day the Bill was slated to come up for consideration and passage in the Rajya Sabha.
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