Indian Govt and civil members meet tomorrow on Lokpal Bill

New Delhi, Jun 19 (PTI) Amid sharp differences between
representatives of Indian government and civil society, the
two sides will meet on Monday in a last ditch attempt to
resolve contentious issues and hammer out a consensus on
Lokpal Bill.
On the eve of the meeting of the Lokpal joint drafting
committee--the eighth since April 16, Senior ministers held
discussions for nearly three hours this evening to finetune
Government's strategy.
The deliberations, chaired by Finance Minister and panel
chairman Pranab Mukherjee, was attended by Union ministers
Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Veerappa Moily---all members
of the committee.
Minister of State in PMO V Narayanaswamy also took part
in the parleys. However, another member of the committee Home
Minister P Chidambaram was not present as he was out of town.
None of the ministers spoke to media after the meeting
which lasted two hours and 45 minutes.
Monday's deliberations could be the last meeting of
the joint committee and another round will be held on Tuesday
if the discussions for an anti-corruption watchdog are not
concluded tomorrow.
Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, a member of the
drafting committee, denied any split in the Anna Hazare
camp and said he will attend the panel's meeting and backed
the social activist's planned fast from August 16 after
opposing it.
After his comments on Hazare fast and inability to take
part in the meeting in Delhi fuelled speculation of
differences among civil society representatives, Hegde said he
will be present on June 21 to show there is 'no rift'.
While the government has virtually ruled out bringing
the post of the prime minister under the ambit of the
anti-corruption watchdog, Congress core group has favoured
convening an all-party meeting on the issue of inclusion of
the PM. The Hazare camp is pressing for bringing the prime
minister under Lokpal's purview.

HRD Minister Kapil Sibal, a member of the Joint Drafting
Committee, said the view within the government is that prime
minister should not be included within the ambit of Lokpal.
He, however, said once the PM demits office, he should not be
"exonerated" from prosecution.
Santosh Hegde however feels keeping the Prime Minister
out of Lokpal till he demits office will not serve the purpose
of having an effective investigation because there will not be
any trail of any misconduct.
A final view on the ticklish issue will be taken by the
union cabinet once the draft bill reaches it after
consultation with political parties, he said.
A government representative of the Committee said the
inclusion of judiciary and conduct of MPs inside Parliament in
the proposed legislation was "not possible" as it would amount
to amending the Constitution.
"The Committee's mandate is clear and that is to enact a
legislation. The members led by Anna Hazare are also clear
about the mandate...it is in the notification," he said.
But the member insisted that the government side will
try its best to convince the civil society members about its
"stand and compulsions".
However, the Anna Hazare team dubbed the argument to
keep the prime minister out of Lokpal's ambit as "absurd".
"There is no reason whatsoever to exclude the prime
minister. Whatever arguments are being given seem to suggest
that if the prime minister was subject to anti-corruption
investigation then he would become dysfunctional," lawyer
Prashant Bhushan, a team member, said here.
He said the argument was "absurd" as the prime minister
can be investigated by the CBI, which is under his control,
but not an independent agency like Lokpal.
If the two sides fail to settle their differences, a
draft bill with points of agreements and disagreements will be
prepared.
The government and civil society are at loggerheads on
the issues of inclusion of prime minister, judiciary and
conduct of MPs inside Parliament.