The other society: CIC,Aruna Roy,Justice Verma to hold parallel meet

The sub-committee of the NAC dedicated to Transparency,Governance and Accountability,headed by Aruna Roy met on April 4 to consider the Lokpal Bill but no subsequent meetings have been planned. But the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information,the NCPRI,and the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan,the MKSS,are organising a day-long consultation on the Lokpal Bill on the same day,hoping to accommodate a wider variety of views — several of them at variance with Hazare’s draft Jan Lokpal Bill.

Legal luminaries and former CJI Justice J S Verma,Justice Mukul Mudgal,former CVC Pratyush Sinha,

Chief Information Commissioner Satyanarain Mishra,NAC member Harsh Mander and several activists are expected to be there.

Says NAC and MKSS member Aruna Roy: “We are hoping to undertake a much more detailed discussion of the elements proposed by the Jan Lokpal bill and we think two or three views may emerge. We are wanting to move towards a consensus,but this is just the beginning.”

Roy added: “We want to open it up for a public debate completely,and can’t sit in a meeting on it before all views are got. Our job is to make recommendations and not make the law. We will give it to the government to consider. If they wish to pass it on to the committee they have set up,so be it. Now these activists are part of the government and will have to shoulder that responsibility.”

Nikhil De of the MKSS said: “The five non-government participants are now part of the state apparatus to draft a bill and are duty-bound to now demonstrate to us the real meaning of participatory democracy that we have all been talking about. Now is their chance to show us what it really means.”

The organizers of this consultation are keen to not appear to be in confrontation with the joint committee and say that India Against Corruption will also be represented by Kamal Jaiswal. The five non-governmental members of the panel have been invited,too,but may not be able to make it “because of lack of time.”

This set of activists are pleased to point out that the Jan Lokpal Bill’s earlier stipulation of having Nobel laureates of Indian origin and Magsaysay award winners in the selection panel,has been withdrawn by the Jan Lokpal draft in its latest avatar,JLP 2.1. But they say that it is worrying that the selection committee cited by the Jan Lokpal bill draft has only one elected representative,and no voice of the elected Opposition.

The only elected member is the Speaker of the Lok Sabha. Also,the draft calls for the presence of a five-star Army general,which this group of activists says is “unnecessary” in an appointment of this nature.

Concerns also remain about how the judiciary is to be made part of the Lokpal and jurists invited tomorrow are expected to articulate their views on this.