Hazare asks Parliament panel to reject Lok Pal Bill

Social activist Anna Hazare and his team on Wednesday said they wanted Parliament’s scrutinising panel to reject the government’s bill on the Lok Pal, the proposed ombudsman on corruption and misuse of office.

The bill has been introduced and is to be first examined by a standing committee, chaired by the Congress party’s Abhishek Singhvi.

“We asked them to reject the Bill totally as it is designed to harass complainants and to protect the corrupt,” Prashant Bhushan, senior lawyer and one of the leaders of Hazare’s Anti Corruption Campaign (ACC), told Business Standard. Bhushan was one of five members from Hazare’s supporters who were invited by the government to jointly draft the Bill. However, the Hazare suggestions have mostly been rejected and Hazare Hazare has threatened an indefinite hunger-strike from August 16.

“We told the panel that the Bill would not serve the purpose of weeding out corruption and would in fact be used against NGOs and others who make corruption charges,” Bhushan said. The team led by Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi presented their views on Wednesday.

They want rejection of the government Bill and acceptance of the ‘Jan Lok Pal’ Bill drafted by them. The latter also provides for appointment of Lok Ayuktas in all states, and to bring all official levels under its purview. The government Bill does not have this and also does not include judiciary and the office of the Prime Minister under the proposed body’s purview.

An alternative set of propositions has been made by another set of campaigners led by activist Aruna Roy. It has asked for a basket of measures in place of a single all-powerful Lok Pal.