Delhi government may extend assembly session for Lokpal bill

The Delhi government was exploring the possibility of extending the ongoing winter session of the state assembly to ensure passage of the long-awaited Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill 2015, which it plans to table next week.

"We are exploring the possibility of extending the session since you need time to debate and pass the bill in the assembly," a government official said.

Amid criticism by the opposition Congress and the BJP for the delay in the introduction of the anti-graft legislation, the Delhi cabinet cleared the bill on November 18 -- the first day of the winter session of the Delhi assembly that is slated to end on November 28.

The opposition parties questioned the move of the Aam Aadmi Party government, contending that the bill cannot be tabled without the Centre's nod.

However, the government is relying on section 26 of Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act, which deals with requirement of sanction, to push the bill.

Drafted on the lines of the Lokayukta Act of Uttarakhand and some changes in the provisions of an earlier bill that the AAP government failed to introduce in its previous tenure, the legislation envisages an ombudsman who would have powers to probe even the Delhi chief minister.