Lokpal Bill: Ready to fight, says Sonia, in warning to Team Anna and opposition

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Dec 21, 2011:  UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has signalled that the government is ready for war with both the opposition and Team Anna over the Lokpal Bill once it is introduced in Parliament.  She told a meeting of Congress MPs this morning that the Lokpal Bill is "path-breaking" and that "Team Anna must accept it."  Kiran Bedi, a close aide of activist Anna Hazare, retorted, "It’s not a path-breaking bill, it’s a heart-breaking bill."  

After she stepped out of the meeting, reporters asked Mrs Gandhi if the government is ready for a fight over the Lokpal Bill, given that 74-year-old Anna and his team of supporters are unhappy with it. "I am always ready for a fight," she replied.  Anna begins a three-day fast on December 27 in protest against the "betrayal of the people."

At the meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party, Mrs Gandhi said, "We are being criticised and attacked for not tackling the scourge of corruption. This is deliberate and malicious misinformation." 

The contentious bill, intended to curb corruption among government servants, will be introduced by the government in Parliament tomorrow.  It was cleared by the Cabinet last night.

The main opposition party, the BJP, has expressed its reservations over the Bill, mainly because its suggestion to give the new Lokpal administrative control over the CBI has been rejected.  The BJP also believes that the selection process for the nine members of the Lokpal gives too much clout to the government.

In the current draft, the Lokpal has no investigative branch.  It can refer cases of corruption to the CBI, who will report to it only on those cases. "The government cannot keep administrative control over the CBI.  That allows the government a say over the budget, transfers, postings, appointments of the CBI," said Ms Bedi.

The BJP and the Left have both been arguing for more distance between the government and the CBI by granting administrative superintendence of the investigating agency to the Lokpal.  The party’s Arun Jaitley had said that the process of selecting the CBI chief must also change so that the decision is not the government’s alone. The Bill suggests the Director of the CBI will be appointed by the PM, the Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India.

The Left says it will not critique the bill till it is shared with Parliament.  Sitaram Yechury of the CPM also suggested that Team Anna’s reaction may be premature.  "Team Anna seems to know more than Parliament...if that’s the case, it’s worrying," he said.  Political parties have repeatedly made the point that the activists must let Parliament work out the details of the Lokpal Bill.