The government will draft a Lokpal bill that is “in the best interest of the nation” and table it in the Lok Sabha on December 20, Pawan Bansal, Union parliamentary affairs minister, said on Thursday.
The government will draft a Lokpal bill that is “in the best interest of the nation” and table it in the Lok Sabha on December 20, Pawan Bansal, Union parliamentary affairs minister, said on Thursday.
On his part, Anna Hazare said if the government did come up with a strong bill, December 27 would be observed as “Thanksgiving Day”. “We should express our gratitude to them [ministers],” he told reporters here after meeting core members of his team.
But if the government failed, Hazare said he would start an indefinite fast from December 27.
And the fast will not be the end of the agitation, he said. “From the first day of the New Year, we will start filling up all the jails in the country.” The 74-year-old Gandhian announced that he would lead the jail bharo andolan by protesting in front of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s home.
A cabinet minister said the government would go through the various suggestions that came up at Wednesday’s all-party meeting and the recommendations of the standing committee before finalising the draft. He said the draft is likely to be approved at a special cabinet meeting on Sunday.
A three-member cabinet team — law minister Salman Khurshid, home minister P Chidambaram and minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office V Narayanasamy — will hold a meeting to finalise the bill, which will be overseen by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, a source said.
The Congress is keen to table the bill in this session as it would mean fulfilling a commitment. The session is scheduled to end on December 22. The party, which is the major constituent in the UPA, also does not want to be seen as a villain trying to scuttle the move to bring in a strong Lokpal bill. “Once it is tabled… everything depends on the collective wisdom of Parliament,” Janardan Dwivedi, the party’s chief spokesperson, said.
Team Anna has constantly accused the government, especially the Congress, of not being serious about the bill. “Our intentions are clear and honest,” the cabinet minister said. “We want to stand by our commitment by bringing in the bill in this session.”
The bill that has been pending for more than 40 years gained prominence across the country when Hazare went on a fast at Delhi’s Ramlila Ground. “Everybody in the government has assured us of a strong Lokpal. We should have faith in them,” Hazare said. “If they do not bring it, we will have to agitate.”
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