Lokpal Bill Detail

New Delhi:  The newly-constituted joint drafting committee of the Jan Lokpal Bill is likely to meet next week.

Union Law Minister M Veerappa Moily, who is also the convenor of the joint panel, said the first meeting is tentatively slated for April 16 but it depends on the availability of the ministers.

The ten-member committee comprising ministers and members of the civil society will get down to preparing the draft of the anti-corruption bill.

The draft bill is likely to be ready by June end because the government intends to introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill in the monsoon session of the Parliament that begins in July.

The joint committee for drafting the bill was formally notified by the government on Saturday following social activist Anna Hazare's fast-unto-death campaign demanding that the government introduce a bill to tackle corruption immediately, and that politicians alone not be in charge of drafting that bill. The government has agreed to most of his demands. (Read: Who is Anna Hazare?)

The government has agreed that the panel that will draft the Jan Lokpal Bill will include five representatives of civil society, including Mr Hazare, and five ministers. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee will be the Chairman of the panel; and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, who has been picked by Mr Hazare, will be the co-Chairman. (What is Jan Lokpal Bill?)

Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and Minister for Minority Affairs Salman Khursheed will be the other government representatives on the panel.

Besides Shanti Bhushan, those representing civil society on the panel will be Anna Hazare himself, eminent lawyer Prashant Bhushan, retired Supreme Court Judge Santosh Hegde and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.

In a statement, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described the coming together of civil society and government on the Lokpal Bill issue as "a step that augurs well for democracy," saying it signifies the mutual resolve to combat corruption.

Source-realtwister

We only need a decent environment to live in

Most of us don’t want to be involved in politics or public affairs. And that is why we choose a government. We only need a fair society to live in. We need good roads to travel, good schools for our children, buses and trains for us to travel. We ask for nothing more. We are decent people only asking for a decent environment to live in. And we deserve it. The current environment has been polluted by corruption and the government has not taken steps to curb it. It is high time we realize our duties as citizens and peacefully demand what we deserve.

 

Jan Lokpal Bill

The government is again thinking of introducing a Lokpal Bill in parliament this year, and the National Advisory Council (NAC) chaired by Sonia Gandhi is considering it. But as it stands today, the bill is riddled with loopholes, defeating its very purpose. Social activists have remarked it to be a toothless bill and not at all acceptable. An alternative bill, the Jan Lokpal Bill has been drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde (Lokayukta of Karnataka), Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal after series of consultations with public and social activists. This bill is supported by Kiran Bedi, Shanti Bhushan, Anna Hazare, etc.