Cabinet clears anti-graft Bills

In a bid to take the fizz out of the December 27 protest fast by Anna Hazare, the UPA government has armed itself with a series of Bills to combat corruption, from the contentious Lok Pal Bill to the Judicial Accountability Bill, the Protection to Whistleblowers Bill and the Citizens’ Charter.

Apart from the Lok Pal, still under deliberation, the other three Bills were swiftly cleared by the Union Cabinet this evening. The government can now table them in Parliament during the Winter session itself.

To ensure smooth passage of the Lok Pal Bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh participated in a meeting of the core committee of the Congress party and the government and also called a meeting of UPA allies, where Trinamool Congress and the DMK indicated they were on the same page as the Congress. Thus, the government insulated itself from all possible risk from known sources.

While the Judicial Accountability Bill intends to lay down judicial standards and provide for accountability of judges, the whistle-blowers’ Bill, also known as the Public Interest Disclosure Bill, is aimed at protecting whistle-blowers.

The Citizens’ Charter, something Hazare’s group wanted included in the Lok Pal Bill, provides for setting up a grievance redressal mechanism. That would include a Central Public Grievance Redressal Commission.

The Hazare-led India Against Corruption, government sources indicated, was on board on the issue of accepting the proposition that the Prime Minister could come under the Lok Pal subject to some conditions.

The standing committee has left it to Parliament to decide on the relationship between the Lok Pal and PM but one formula is the ombudsman include the PM after he has demitted office. The opposition BJP is not in favour of this, nor is the IAC. But, UPA allies appear to agree to this formulation. That Group C employees would be covered by the Central Vigilance Commission, which would report to the Lok Pal, is no longer a knotty issue.

The knot that remains is over the Central Bureau of Investigation, which IAC says is used to fix anyone who is politically inconvenient.