Draft Lokpal Bill Cleared by Union Cabinet

The Union Cabinet has cleared the draft Lokpal Bill late on Tuesday evening and is likely to be tabled in the Lok Sabha on December 22.The meeting was chaired by the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh. Withstanding the pressure from Team Anna, the draft bill has refused to bring the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the control of the Lokpal which the Team Anna has termed as’ ridiculous’. The concession given to Team Anna by the union government is the inclusion of A, B, C and D categories of employees coming under the Lokpal.

The Prime Minister will be under the Lokpal, but with safeguards, so that the matters relating to external affairs, atomic energy and national security are excluded. A complaint against the Prime Minister will be accepted only if three-fourths of the Lokpal Committee is party to it; the enquiry will be in-camera and the report will go to Parliament.
The Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India will choose the Lokpal. To ensure that the Lokpal is accountable, 100 MPs can sign a petition to initiate proceedings for the removal of the Lokpal. Five of the nine members of the Lokpal Committee will be SCs/STs/OBCs, women or from minorities.

In the meeting there were very little discussions on the provisions, but one Minister asked whether the fact that the draft bill includes a provision for setting up Lokayuktas in the States, something that was not there in the original draft bill, meant it needed to go back to the Standing Committee. Team Anna is clearly unhappy with the draft Lokpal Bill and called the draft bill ‘as a fraud committed on the people of India’. Mr. Anna Hazare has announced that he would go on fast from Dec 27-29 and thereafter will lead the country in ‘Jail Barao’ campaign from Dec 30 to Jan I, 2012. He also announced that he will campaign in the poll bound states against the UPA government on the Lokpal issue.