Upset Congress Skips Lokpal Meet, Urges

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Mar 01, 2018:  The Congress has refused to attend the meeting of a group to select the anti-corruption Lokpal selection committee today, with its leader Mallikarjun Kharge objecting to being called as a "special invitee", in a sharp letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

"At the outset, let me state on behalf of myself, my party and the entire opposition that ’Special Invitee Invitation" is a concerted effort to exclude the independent voice of the opposition altogether from the selection process of the most important anti-corruption watchdog," writes Mr Kharge, the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.

Accusing the government of calling today’s meeting only to satisfy the order of the Supreme Court on the appointment of a Lokpal, Mr Kharge says: "the conduct of your government only seeks to diminish the spirit and objective of appointment of Lokpal in as much as you seek to deny participation, voice and opinion of the opposition."

The selection panel includes the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, the Lok Sabha Speaker and an eminent jurist.

Two weeks ago, the top court asked the centre to submit details on steps it has taken towards appointing a Lokpal, which has been delayed for five years.

In April last year, the court told the government that the anti-corruption body should be set up without delay and the lack of a Leader of Opposition should not hold up the process. The ruling meant that the government can select a Lokpal without taking the Congress, the main opposition group, on board.

The law to set up a Lokpal was passed in parliament in 2013 - after a nationwide campaign by activist Anna Hazare that included Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan - and was enacted a year later.

The government had told the court that the Lokpal could not be appointed as there was no Leader of Opposition in the selection panel and a change in law that would allow the Congress - as largest opposition group - to be a member has yet to be approved in parliament.

In 2014, the BJP came to power, replacing the Congress, which was reduced to just 44 seats in the Lok Sabha - not enough to qualify for Leader of Opposition.

Amid criticism and prodding from the Supreme Court, the government later made a concession and decided to include the largest opposition party in selection panels not just for the Lokpal but also for CBI chief.

Courtesy: NDTV