Competent people crucial in Lokpal panel: Arun Jaitley

Commenting on eminent jurist Fali Nariman's refusal to join the Lokpal search committee panel, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley on Thursday said that it was crucial to bring in the most competent people for the Lokpal panel, and added that the government was not making any efforts in this direction.

"We are creating an institution of Lokpal for the first time, and we are doing this after 40 years of long struggle. So, we must bring in the most competent people for the Lokpal panel," said Jailtey.

"I have written a letter regarding this. However, I doubt that the government is not trying to do the same," he said.

Earlier today, Nariman in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had refused to join the Lokpal Search Committee panel.

"I decline the honour. In my humble view, this is no way in which an institution as vital and as important as the Lokpal should be constituted," he wrote in his letter.