Lokpal Bill: In final lap,rush to reconcile

Each side will now present its own draft of the Bill at the final meeting of the committee tomorrow evening,where an attempt will be made to merge them into a common draft for Cabinet and,subsequently,Parliament approval.

Hazare’s side asked today to be allowed to make a presentation at the planned all-party meeting,a suggestion on which joint drafting committee chairman Pranab Mukherjee said only the Prime Minister could decide. Mukherjee,however,suggested that the activists could send their presentation to all parties before the meeting.

Among the unresolved issues at the end of today’s three-hour meeting was the activists’ demand that the Lokpal be allowed to initiate disciplinary proceedings against allegedly corrupt officials. Government representatives said this could result in the bureaucracy ceasing to heed the political executive. Mukherjee suggested that the Lokpal could instead recommend disciplinary proceedings after guilt was established,with the government having to act within a specified timeframe.

Though it wasn’t discussed today,differences persist on bringing the Prime Minister and higher judiciary under the Lokpal.

The activists wanted the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to be part of the Lokpal appointment committee. HRD Minister Kapil Sibal pointed out that the CAG and CEC themselves were appointees of the government,and advised the activists to have some trust in the committee’s capabilities. Arvind Kejriwal reportedly countered that the offices of CAG and CEC were more independent that others,to which Sibal suggested that the government could then look at including somebody from the education sector as well,like the chairperson of the Academy of Sciences.

The government has proposed to have the Prime Minister,Speaker,Leaders and Leaders of Opposition of both Houses of Parliament,Home Minister,Cabinet Secretary,a Supreme Court judge and a High Court Chief Justice in the selection panel.

On the procedure of removal of a member of the Lokpal,Team Anna said “any person may move a petition before the Supreme Court”; the government insisted that the authority to do so must be vested only in it.

Government representatives also rejected the contention that the CBI’s wing handling corruption cases should be put under the Lokpal.

On the issue of life sentence for corruption,raised by Shanti Bhushan,Home Minister P Chidambaram said the government was open to increasing it to 10 years from the present seven. “You are already taking away his property. And 14 years is a long time,” he said.

Despite the lack of consensus on critical issues,however,track two consultations continued. Swami Agnivesh,who is close to Team Anna,met Khursheed in the evening. Pranab Mukherjee then met with government members of the committee in his office.

While agreeing on funding for the Lokpal,the sides differed on the modalities. The activists wanted 0.5 per cent of the national budget; the government,while underlining that money would never be a constraint,maintained that the Supreme Court must be allowed to decide on the quantum.

For once,though,both sides felt the discussions were not one-sided.

“We had a good meeting,” Hazare said. Kejriwal said the government representatives had heard them “patiently”. “Unlike earlier meetings,where the government ministers used to just come and dictate their decisions,today they came with arguments and discussed each point,” he said. Many points were covered,Kejriwal said,but “new areas of divergence have also appeared”.

A government representative who acknowledged that there was convergence in many areas,said a “good Bill would emerge from contributions made by both sides”. “We urged them that they should not go too fast. We told them we should have a single-storey house today and think about the higher floors later,” said a senior minister.