Govt ready to bend on Lokpal issue, but does not reveal how far

Sources at the Centre were not too sure on Sunday as to what was the UPA government’s position on the Lokpal Bill, now before the parliamentary standing committee. “I am not in Delhi and I am not in a position to say anything in the matter,” a senior leader said.

The long weekend — Monday being a holiday on account of Krishna Janmashtami — seems to have come as a relief to the government.

On Saturday, prime minister Manmohan Singh indicated, after a meeting of the Planning Commission, that there was scope for a “give-and-take” on the bill. He did not specify what the mode of negotiation would be.

Meanwhile chairman of standing committee on personnel, public grievances, law and justice, Congress’ Abhishek Manu Singhvi has asked for response from members of the public on the bill and the last date for receiving these responses is September 3.

This would mean that the bill cannot be passed in this session which is scheduled to end on September 8 but Hazare wants the bill to be passed by August 30.

It is not clear whether the prime minister has hinted at the scope for dialogue and negotiation through the standing committee.

The panel with 12 members from all parties and from the two Houses will consider the bill clause by clause, and could even suggest amendments to it, which will be then taken up by the House at the time of debating and passing the bill.

There is a definite change in the government’s stance. Between August 4, 2011, when the government introduced the Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha and August 20, the government’s general stance has been that the bill is now in parliament and there is not much that it can do.

Union power minister Sushil Kumar Shinde has suggested that he could speak to Hazare if the prime minister wanted him to do so.

The message the government wants to give is that it doesn’t want to stay rigid and that it is exploring ways of reaching out to the Jan Lokpal activists.