Team Anna, led by Anna Hazare, in the open letter said they are "keen that the best possible law" emerges from the debate in the "people's Houses".
Team Anna, in an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and parliamentarians Sunday, hoped the best possible anti-graft law will emerge from the debate in "the people's Houses" and called for merging the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) with the proposed Lokpal.
Hazare's India Against Corruption is "keen that the best possible law" emerges from the debate in the "people's Houses (Parliament)", he said.
"While we are on record with our displeasure over the current draft of the bill, we are also keen that the best possible law should now emerge from the debate in the people's Houses," the letter said.
Parliament's winter session was to end Dec 22 but has been extended Dec 27-29 to discuss the anti-graft Lokpal bill. Hazare will be fast on these three days and has also announced a 'jail bharo' Dec 30-31.
Team Anna said the Lokpal and Lokayuktas should be able to carry out investigations through the anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which should be merged into the Lokpal, and the anti-corruption bureaus and state vigilance departments in states should be similarly merged into Lokayuktas.
The other option they have given is for the Lokpal and Lokayuktas to have their own investigative wings which should have exclusive jurisdiction over corruption cases.
Another option is of giving the Lokpal and Lok Ayuktas administrative and financial control over the CBI.
They said the appointment of a CBI director should be independent of any political control.
They also demanded that the selection of Lokpal should be through consensus of the selection panel and the selection committee should have the prime minister, Leader of Opposition, two judges to be nominated by the collegium of Supreme Court judges, comptroller and auditor general, central vigilance commission and chief election commissioner.
They said the lower bureaucracy should be under the Lokpal.
"Without these provisions, the Lokpal bill will be just another law - one among many that have proven ineffective so far.
Team Anna also said that although their opposition to some portions of the bill proposed and introduced in parliament by the central government remains, they want parliamentarians to include some of their points too.
They said they want the Lokpal and Lok Ayuktas to suo motu initiate their own investigations, without a complaint or reference from anyone.
"It should also not be required to alert the accused through preliminary enquiry or hearing before filing an FIR (First Information Report)," they said, adding this was recommended by the parliamentary panel that examined the Lokpal bill.
In the letter, it said : "The year-long people's campaign against corruption has brought us to the very edge of legislation that can tackle it powerfully."
"Sensing the national mood, parliament has also taken it upon itself to foster a significant debate on the issues within the Bill, and for this we thank our elected representatives."
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