Parties want strong Lokpal, differ on provisions

New Delhi, Jul 3 (PTI) Political parties on Sunday
agreed in favour of bringing in the coming Monsoon session of
the Indian Parliament a "strong and effective" Lokpal bill to
fight graft in higher places while asserting the supremacy of
Parliamentary processes but differed on its provisions.
At the meeting convened by Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh to evolve consensus on the contentious
ombudsman bill, the government came under attack for engaging
civil society led by Anna Hazare before consulting the
political parties.
There was consensus that setting up of the institution
of Lokpal should not undermine the established Parliamentary
processes of enacting a law.
After the three-hour confabulations at the Prime
Minister's residence, a resolution was passed, saying: "The
all-party meeting agreed that government should bring before
the next session of Parliament a strong and effective Lokpal
Bill following the established procedures."
However, there were differences on various provisions of
the bill with a number of small parties, except AIADMK,
favouring inclusion of Prime Minister but not higher judiciary
in the ambit of the anti-corruption ombudsman.
Setting the tone for the meet, Singh said the government
was committed to bringing a bill that will provide for "strong
and effective way to tackle corruption in high places" but
such an institution will have to work within the framework of
Constitution.
He said the Lokpal will have "to add to and not detract
from the legitimate role and authority of other institutions
in our democratic structure." Underlining that the Constitution provides for an
"intricate system of checks and balances", the Prime Minister
said the new institution of Lokpal has to find an appropriate
place in that matrix."
The government's consultations with political parties
came two months after it engaged with civil society led by
Anna Hazare whose draft demands inclusion of Prime Minister,
higher judiciary, MPs' conduct inside Parliament in the bill.
Main Opposition BJP, which kept cards close to its chest
on the contentious issues, said it has serious differences
over the draft prepared by the five ministers of the joint
drafting committee with regard to jurisdiction and process of
selection and removal of the Lokpal.
Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj told the
meeting that government should stick to established
Parliamentary processes while bringing a strong Lokpal bill in
the Monsoon session of Parliament.
"We clearly said that BJP wants a strong and effective
Lokpal who is selected transparently and be able to function
independently," the BJP leader said emerging from the meeting.
She said the bill should be referred to the Parliament's
Standing Committee so that all political parties, state
governments and members of civil society are able to present
their views. After due consultations, the bill may be passed
in the Winter Session, she said.
Swaraj and her party colleague Arun Jaitley, who is
Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said they have serious
differences over several provisions of the draft prepared by
the ministers.
"We have serious differences on who should come within
the purview of the Lokpal, the appointment mechanism, who is
eligible to be appointed and who should initiate removal of
Lokpal, among other issues," Jaitley said.