Former AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan said the Bill was completely different from the one envisaged originally.
Former chief justice of Delhi high court A P Shah, who was named by Arvind Kejriwal as an internal Lokpal of India Against Corruption, on Saturday termed the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by erstwhile Team Anna as "too draconian".Addressing a conference of state Lokayuktas, Shah favoured setting up of a strong Lokpal to contain corruption in the country but criticised the Jan Lokpal Bill, saying certain provisions of it were not within the limits of the Constitution.
The government has notified new Lokpal search committee rules, giving it more freedom to recommend names for chairperson and members of the anti-corruption body outside the list provided by the Department of Personnel and Training.
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.
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 agency had received Rs 946.51 crore to manage its affairs in the Budget Estimates for 2023-24, which was later increased to Rs 968.86 crore in the Revised Estimates.
Press Council Chief Justice Markandey Katju on Saturday urged Parliament to refer the Lokpal Bill to a Standing Committee for further consideration so that a workable corruption investigation machinery can be created. In its present state, the Bill can create a parallel bureaucracy that could turn into a "Frankenstein monster" and double or triple corruption, he said in a statement.
Vowing to bring in a strong Lokpal, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said that his party was committed to the upliftment of poor, farmers and common man.
The Samajwadi Party on Friday said it will strongly oppose the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, holding it was against the very basis of democracy.
Highlights of the government's new Lokpal Bill
Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Monday said activist Anna Hazare was "overestimating" his version of the Jan Lokpal Bill. Singh also sought a comprehensive strategy to tackle corruption. "I think he is overestimating the Jan Lokpal bill. Corruption can only be removed if there is a comprehensive strategy by the judiciary, bureaucracy, police and government," Singh told reporters. "Just passing the law will not help any one. Corruption will not be removed only by Lokpal."
Justice Ghose, who retired from the Supreme Court in May 2017, is a member of the National Human Rights Commission.
Within the Hazare group, serious differences have cropped up with Justice N Santosh Hegde and Swami Agnivesh wanting him to withdraw the fast, saying it was now counterproductive. But others like Bedi and Kejriwal, who are seen as hardliners with their own agenda, are said to be resisting the move and not allowing the 73-year-old social activist from Maharashtra to break the fast.
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.
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.
Anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare's indefinite hunger strike to press for passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament entered the seventh day on Monday.
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.
A day after stating that the prime minister and Chief Justice of India should not be brought under the ambit of the proposed Lokpal Bill, Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday did a volte-face saying he did not make such a statement.
The much-delayed Lokpal Bill has finally been passed by both the Houses of Parliament. Following are some important features of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011, passed by Parliament
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.
The Centre on Saturday invited applications for appointment to the post of chairperson and members of the anti-graft watchdog, Lokpal.
Defending the Lokpal Act passed by Parliament last year, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi on Thursday attacked Aam Aadmi Party charging it with spreading "misinformation".
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.
The enactment of Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act will help the Central Vigilance Commission work in an independent and assertive manner, the government said on Wednesday.
The government on Thursday gave ex post-facto approval to some official amendments to the Lokpal Bill moved in the Rajya Sabha earlier this year.
The Union Cabinet on Thursday approved a draft of the Lokpal Bill, which will now be tabled in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament.
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 proposed Lokpal will have the status of a Constitutional authority for which purpose the Constitution will be amended, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid disclosed on Tuesday night.
In its critique of the Bill, the NCPRI said the appropriateness of 'The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011' could well be determined by asking questions like whether the Lokpal is adequately independent, whether it is empowered to detect and investigate and prosecute corruption cases.
A Parliamentary panel examining the Lokpal bill may recommend that the proposed anti-corruption watchdog be a single window stop for probing all corruption complaints against government functionaries by ending multiplicity of investigating agencies to investigate graft cases.
The Constitutional (116 amendment) bill, which will have to be passed by a two-thirds majority of Parliament, is the enabling bill that would enable the law-makers to grant the Lokpal constitutional status. If that is not passed, it will also mean the end of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas bill. Sheela Bhatt reports.
The Constitutional (116 amendment) bill, which will have to be passed by a two-thirds majority of Parliament, is the enabling bill that would enable the law-makers to grant the Lokpal constitutional status. If that is not passed, it will also mean the end of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas bill. Sheela Bhatt reports.
Team Anna met the members of the Standing Committee of Parliament headed by Abhishek Singvi on Friday to discuss the Jan Lokpal Bill and pressed for as many as 34 fresh additions to the proposed Lokpal Bill that have already been incorporated in the Uttarakhand Lokayukata Bill. They renewed their demand that constitutional amendments bringing violation of citizens' charter and conduct of legislators in Parliament within the purview of the Lokpal also be introduced.
Indicating that inclusion of Prime Minister under Lokpal may not remain their priority, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Wednesday said that bringing the Central Bureau of Investigation under the ombudsman will make anti-corruption efforts more effective than any other measure.
The much-awaited Lokpal Bill is in for further delay with the term of a Parliamentary committee examining it being extended on Friday beyond September 3 to allow it to submit its report by the beginning of the Winter Session of Parliament.
With several versions of the Lokpal Bill doing the rounds, the Bharatiya Janata Party is in favour of inclusion of the prime minister in the ambit of Lokpal with certain riders and agrees with most of the provisions of Jan Lokpal Bill and Aruna Roy's draft, party sources said in New Delhi on Thursday.
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.
Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Lalu Prasad on Tuesday had the Lok Sabha in splits when he suggested that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should be selected as the first Lokpal as he was an honest person.
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 report on the Lokpal Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha by Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice, Public Grievances and Personnel.
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