Parliament is final authority for making laws: Ambika Soni

In a clear message to activists drafting the Lokpal Bill, government today asserted that Parliament is the final authority in making laws and a handful of people cannot claim to be the sole repository of all knowledge.

"I do not believe that four or five persons or a single NGO can claim to be better informed and be the sole repository of all knowledge," Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters here.

She was replying to questions on RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal comments that his group would focus on electoral reforms and judicial reforms after the drafting of the Lokpal Bill.

Soni said every citizen of the country enjoyed the right to air his views but it was upto the government to incorporate the same in Bills it plans to move in Parliament.

"What will be the nature of the law is for the Parliament to decide. Parliament is the final authority," the minister said.

Soni said the UPA government, in the past seven years, had taken several steps that have made every person feel empowered to exercise his rights and air his views on issues of importance.

She said the government has been making efforts to get maximum inputs from various quarters and have a national debate on issues of importance.