Team Anna seeks 34 amendments

New Delhi, November 4, 2011(Tehelkanews)

Appearing before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel and Law, Team Anna on Thursday sought 34-odd amendments to the government\'s Lokpal Bill to bring it in line with the Jan Lokpal Bill and the Lokayukta Bill passed recently by the Uttarakhand Assembly. The panel is scrutinising the Lokpal Bill referred to it by Parliament.As per the format adopted, MPs who participated did not ask any questions on Day One, but some of them later charged Team Anna with shifting their stand. "So far, they were talking only about the Jan Lokpal Bill. Now they are also speaking of the Uttarakhand Bill," said one MP.

Terming the meeting "good," Team Anna Member Arvind Kejriwal said: "We have suggested amendments to the government Bill to bring it in line with the Jan Lokpal Bill and the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill, because all our suggestions have been incorporated in the latter."While staying with their demand for including the Prime Minister and higher judiciary in the ambit of the Bill, Team Anna welcomed the suggestion of constitutional amendment to make Lokpal a body like the Election Commission, but suggested that "to save time" it be drafted in a manner that required no ratification by States. "As a broad consensus is emerging, we believe that it will be passed in Parliament by two-thirds majority," said Mr. Kejriwal. Besides him, lawyers Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi participated in the meeting.



This was Team Anna\'s second meeting with the all-party parliamentary panel. The meeting will continue on Friday when Gandhian Anna Hazare is expected to participate.



"We explained all the reasons for seeking all the amendments," Mr. Prashant Bhushan said adding that they would face questions from committee members on Friday.



Team Anna suggested amendments to several provisions, including the ones on setting up Lokayuktas in States, selection of chairperson and members of Lokpal, removal of chairperson and members of Lokpal, merger of the Central Bureau of Investigation into the Lokpal, jurisdiction and autonomy of the Lokpal, delegation of Lokpal powers and functions, Independent Complaints Authority, powers to take suo motu action, powers to tap telephones, powers under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 as well as the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, accountability of the Lokpal, Whistleblower Protection, Citizen\'s Charter, time-bound investigations, bringing judiciary under the Lokpal and widening the definition of corruption.



Singhvi hopeful



Describing the panel meetings as "satisfactory," chairman Abhishek Singhvi said he hoped to finish the task of making recommendations on the Lokpal Bill "in the shortest possible time."



Mr. Singhvi said there was an initial formal meeting with Team Anna in August after which the panel had had discussions with different sections of society. Coming full circle, he wanted to end the process of consultations with Team Anna and that was why he had earmarked a six hour-long discussion with them, spread over two days.


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