Pushing for inclusion of Prime Minister in Lokpal's ambit "with adequate safeguards", the Communist Party of India-Marxist on Wednesday insisted that all public servants should fall within the ombudsman's purview.
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.
There are alternatives that are preferable to the octopus like Jan Lokpal being proposed. Extremism, whether the Gandhian excess of non-violence or obsession with environment at cost of everything else is dangerous in the long run, says Colonel Anil Athale (retd).
Right To Information activist Subhash Aggarwal is a pleased man today. After waiting for four months, his application, which appealed to make public the deliberations of the joint Lokpal drafting committee, has been finally heard on Sunday.
The government has now agreed to make public the audio recordings of proceedings of the joint drafting committee constituted to draft the Lokpal Bill.
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.
As Parliamentary Standing Committee went back on some of its recommendations on Lokpal Bill, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Thursday night slammed it as an effort to make the ombdusman an "enquiry-pal" and said it confirms her remarks that politicians wear several masks.
The Lokpal Bill is set to be put on the fast-track with the Parliamentary panel on Law taking it for examination from Friday by hearing views of Aruna Roy and Jaiprakash Narayan who have presented their own drafts.
Team Anna on Thursday demanded that the Citizen's Charter, specifying a time limit on government departments for providing services, should be included in the Lokpal Bill as it will help the common people to get their work done.
According to a Congress minister, who is handling the party's floor management in the Rajya Sabha, the Congress party, as on 5.30 pm on Thursday, does not have enough votes to pass the Lokpal bill in the Upper House of Parliament.
The Left parties on Monday announced a nationwide agitational programme to highlight issues relating to corruption and demand an effective Lokpal bill, with the Communist Party of India saying the Prime Minister and his office should be within the purview of the anti-corruption ombudsman.
A move is afoot to extend the session of Parliament by three days from December 27 to 29 after a five day break from December 22, when it was scheduled to conclude, to facilitate adequate time for consideration of the Lokpal Bill. The Lokpal Bill is expected to be brought in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal has sounded Bharatiya Janata Party Parliamentary Party leader L K Advani on the move and has promised to get back.
Questioning the government's move to make the Lokpal a Constitutional authority, Team Anna on Wednesday said it was a tactic to delay or avoid its passage and "fool" the people.
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.
The Lokpal Bill, which seeks to curb corruption, has run into rough weather after the government objected strongly to certain clauses in the much-anticipated bill.The prime bone of contention during Monday's meeting between representatives of the civil society and the Centre was the proposed inclusion of both the prime minister and the judiciary within the purview of the Lokpal bill.
Asserting that the Lokpal cannot completely wipe out corruption which is as old as the civilisation itself, Team Anna member Justice N Santosh Hegde on Monday said that if the menace could be contained up to 60-70 per cent, "we would be very strong".
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.
After civil society activists slammed the government's Lokpal Bill, the Centre on Friday said that people who are not satisfied with the Bill can approach the Standing Committee of Parliament and persuade it to make changes. Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, who was part of the joint committee to draft the bill, said the government has already reconciled taking into account a number of provisions suggested by the civil society.
Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Wednesday attacked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Lokpal issue by sarcastically thanking her while alleging that the bill for setting up an anti-corruption ombudsman was not pathbreaking but breaking the path.
Dubbing the United Progressive Alliance at the Centre as "the most corrupt government ever seen by independent India", senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Saturday wanted the Lokpal bill to be passed in the next session of Parliament itself.
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.
Civil society members on Thursday came down heavily on the government's decision to present only their version of the Lokpal Bill.
The much-awaited report of the Parliamentary panel that examined the Lokpal Bill has left the final decision -- about the inclusion of the prime minister's post under the aegis of Lokpal --- to the House. The report, along with 16 dissenting notes, was submitted and tabled in Parliament on Friday.
With the Central Bureau of Investigation director opposing bringing anti-corruption unit of the agency under Lokpal, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday gave an assurance that the agency will continue to play a very important role in ensuring probity in public life, whatever be the structure of the anti-corruption ombudsman.
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare will observe fast unto death from Tuesday until the government enacts a comprehensive law such as the Jan Lokpal Bill to tackle the menace.
Refusing to yield to Anna Hazare's demand, the government has kept CBI out of the control of Lokpal and decided not to hive off the Directorate of Prosecution from the investigative agency.
The government on Friday said the Lokpal Bill is ready and will be placed before the Union Cabinet for approval in its next meeting where a decision on whether to put the prime minister in its purview would be also taken.
With the Lokpal Bill slated to come up in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, a near unanimity emerged at an all-party meeting in New Delhi on Monday, but United Progressive Alliance's outside supporter Samajwadi Party remained a stumbling block continuing its opposition to the anti-corruption measure.
The meeting of the Joint Drafting Committee of the Lokpal Bill, scheduled to be held later on Tuesday, is expected to be a decisive one. But the representatives of civil society don't have any high hopes from this meeting.
The government on Saturday said prima facie it was opposed to the inclusion of the prime minister under the ambit of Lokpal but was open to the idea of covering him once he demits office.
Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said that the United Progressive Alliance government was ready to bring in and get the Lokpal Bill passed in the next session of Parliament if the Opposition cooperated with it.
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.
Terming as "slow" the drafting of Lokpal Bill, joint panel co-chair Shanti Bhushan on expressed doubts over completion of the process by the deadline of June 30 and urged the government to communicate to the civil society its position on issues of divergence.
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.
The battle for Jan Lokpal and corruption-free India will commence from Patna in January, social activist Anna Hazare said on Wednesday.
Amid roiling controversy over Lokpal Bill drafting committee members, Union Minister Salman Khurshid on Saturday ruled out any changes in the panel and said the government is looking forward to receiving inputs from Justice Santosh Hegde on the bill.
In an apparent softening of stand, social activist Anna Hazare on Sunday said Parliament was supreme and would accept its decision if it rejects the Lokpal Bill. Hazare also showed some flexibility on the August 15 deadline he had set for passage of the Lokpal Bill by Parliament saying he was open to extending it if he found that the government was on the right path.
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.
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 much-hyped Lokpal Bill could be tabled in Rajya Sabha in the ongoing monsoon session if a parliamentary panel looking into the legislation gives its report before the end of the session, the government said on Thursday.
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