PM bats for effective, strong Lok Pal Bill

Softening his stance on the issue of the Lok Pal Bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said there was ample scope for ‘give and take’, while affirming his government’s commitment for a strong Bill to fight corruption. His comments came as social activist Anna Hazare’s fast entered the fifth day.

“The government wants a strong and effective Bill,” Singh said after a full Planning Commission meet at his residence. “Therefore, there is a lot of scope for give and take. We hope to enlist the cooperation of all thinking segments of the Indian public opinion to ensure the end product is a strong and effective Lok Pal, something all sections of our community want,” he said.

Singh said the government was working on the Bill, but its completion would take time. “There is a dynamic in the legislative process and it takes time for a Bill to be passed,” he said.

He said he wanted a consensus before any further decision could be taken. “We are open to, I think, discussion and dialogue. We would like...a broad national consensus to emerge,” Singh said.

The PM, however, sidestepped the question over Hazare’s announcement the Bill should be passed by August 30. “I do not want to say anything to controvert anyone saying anything on the Bill,” he said.

Urging all political parties to come together on the issue, he said he had fulfilled the Opposition’s desire for a draft Bill and they should now have a debate on it. “They (parties) said they could not give their point of view unless we come out with a draft. We have fulfilled that obligation,” he said.