Lok Pal: BJP to come up with 3 dissident notes in draft report

Fresh trouble is brewing for the union government as the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, along with a few parliament members of the Left, is likely to give as many as three ‘dissent notes’ in the draft Lok Pal report. Currently, the document is being discussed by the standing committee on personnel, public grievance, law and justice.

The dissent notes on the proposed anti-corruption legislation have to be seen in the context of a widespread perception that the BJP is supporting the Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption (IAC) that was spearheading the movement for a Lok Pal. The notes indicate that when the Bill comes up for discussion, the chief NDA party will question the government’s commitment on countering corruption.

The opposition members in the parliamentary committee, especially the BJP members, have decided to give dissent note on the issue of bringing the Prime Minister under the Lok Pal. This, when a majority of political parties are of the view that the PM must be kept out of the ambit of the proposed ombudsman.

But, not all parties agree with that view. A member of the Revolutionary Socialist Party, which is part of the Left, want unqualified inclusion of the PM under the Lok Pal. The MP is expected to give a dissent note along with the principal opposition party.

A standing committee member said he wanted the PM to come under the Lok Pal without any safeguards. “Why should the PM be kept out of the Lok Pal?” he asked.

True, the government has decided to bring a Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill to check alleged corruption in the judiciary, but BJP members have decided to give a dissent note on the issue. This, even as the party wants the government to ensure that the pertinent Bill is “strong” and brought “at the earliest”.

The BJP members in the parliamentary committee, who total six, are planning to give a dissent note also on the exclusion of citizens’ charter and public grievance. For, a majority of the standing committee members want the government to bring a separate bill to tackle the issue.

However, there is some consensus within political parties. Most of the members have agreed to keep the Central Bureau of Investigation out of the Lok Pal, but they want an independently body — and not the government — to select the probe agency’s director.

After social activist Hazare and members of his IAC were demanding to bring the entire bureaucracy under the Lok Pal, the standing committee members have come to the conclusion that Group A, B and C would be under the proposed ombudsman, while Group D would continue to remain out of the anti-graft authority.

The BJP in the committee has also demanded that the search and selection committee of the Lok Pal must have more members.

For now, the panel has decided to have five members, including the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India besides a fifth member to be nominated by the Chief Election Commissioner, UPSC chairperson and the Comptroller and Auditor General.

Similarly, there is confrontation on the removal of the Lok Pal. The BJP members want it through the Supreme Court, while a large number of the standing committee members agree that the country’s President must have the powers to do it if the move was owing to corruption charges.