New Delhi, November 04: The much anticipated meeting of the Lokpal Standing Committee began here Friday evening.
Anna Hazare is leading the civil society in the meeting. Also present in the meeting are Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan. Salman Khurshid and Kapil Sibal are representing the government’s side.
Earlier, veteran Gandhian who broke his ‘vow of silence’ today, accused the Centre of conspiring to make the Jan Lokpal Bill weak, while announcing that core committee spearheading the anti-corruption movement would be reconstituted with 3-4 months.
“Government’s intention is doubtful…The government is trying to weaken the Jan Lokpal Bill by cutting it into pieces. All these provisions were there in the Jan Lokpal Bill,” Anna told the reporters in the national capotal. He was referring to the government’s move to bring separate bills for a citizens’ charter and to protect whistleblowers.
Also, accusing the government of not being sincere in its efforts to formulate an effective ant-corruption legislation Anna had said that he will campaign against the Congress in the five poll-bound states.
“Let anybody say anything. I will campaign against those who did not bring the bill. I will go and campaign and say do not give vote to Congress if the Bill is not passed in the Winter Session of Parliament,” he said.
He also reiterated that if the Bill was not passed, he would fast for three days and then will go for a nation-wide tour.
Team Anna members Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal had appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel and Law and Justice and suggested 34 amendments to the government’s version of the measure.
They had said while Team Anna was open to bringing constitutional amendments, it should not cause any delay in implementing it in the states.
“We had a very good and positive meeting with the Standing Committee in which we explained the amendments we are seeking in the government’s Lokpal Bill which are in order to bring the government’s bill in line with the Jan Lokpal Bill and in line with Uttarakhand’s Lokayukta Bill which was passed yesterday,” Prashant Bhushan told reporters after the meeting yesterday.
—–PTI—