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Cong meet to ensure passage of Bill in LS
Sensing the strong reservation to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill with various parties listing 60 amendments to the Government draft, the Congress Core Group headed by the party president and the PM met in the evening to discuss their strategy to ensure the passage of the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday itself.
The meeting, attended by Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and V Narayanasamy and political adviser to the Congress president Ahmad Patel, discussed the various amendments that have been listed, sources said.
They said that as nearly 60 amendments have been listed — 36 by the BJP and 11 by Left parties alone — the meeting discussed the Government’s stand to be taken on them especially given the BJP’s demand to bring the Lokpal Bill under article 252 instead of 253 of the Constitution so that it is not against the federal structure of the country. With even its own allies Trinamool and DMK opposed to the Bill on grounds that it infringes on the power of States, the Government was forced to consider the matter.
The meet considered issuing a formal notification to delete the Section 24 of the Bill under which the Speaker and RS Chairman had to submit their report to the Lokpal about the action taken against any MPs about whom the ombudsman had initiated proceedings.
Sensing the strong reservation to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill with various parties listing 60 amendments to the Government draft, the Congress Core Group headed by the party president and the PM met in the evening to discuss their strategy to ensure the passage of the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday itself.
The meeting, attended by Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and V Narayanasamy and political adviser to the Congress president Ahmad Patel, discussed the various amendments that have been listed, sources said.
They said that as nearly 60 amendments have been listed — 36 by the BJP and 11 by Left parties alone — the meeting discussed the Government’s stand to be taken on them especially given the BJP’s demand to bring the Lokpal Bill under article 252 instead of 253 of the Constitution so that it is not against the federal structure of the country. With even its own allies Trinamool and DMK opposed to the Bill on grounds that it infringes on the power of States, the Government was forced to consider the matter.
The meet considered issuing a formal notification to delete the Section 24 of the Bill under which the Speaker and RS Chairman had to submit their report to the Lokpal about the action taken against any MPs about whom the ombudsman had initiated proceedings.
