LOK PAL BILL: Agitation not against any party - Hazare!

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PTI / The Hindu / MUMBAI, August 9, 2011.

Social activist Anna Hazare with his supporters during a march against government version of Lokpal bill introduced in Parliament for discussion, near Dadar railway station in Mumbai on Tuesday - PTI.

The agitation to demand a strong Lokpal is not aimed against any individual or party, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Tuesday said.

“This agitation is not against any individual or party.

The common man is finding it impossible to live without encountering corruption. Corruption has increased and has led to inflation and price rise. Corruption is the root cause of inflation,” he said.

“Corruption may not end altogether but we can curb it by at least 80 to 90 per cent,” he said at a meet-the—press programme organised by Mumbai Marathi Patrakar Sangh.

The Gandhian recalled that it was on August 9, when he went on a fast here to seek the Right to Information Act in Maharashtra.

“We think this fight against corruption is the second battle for independence. Lakhs of people sacrificed their lives to force British out of the country. But in last 65 years, there has been no change.

“Scams like 2G spectrum allocation scam and Suresh Kalmadi’s CWG scam were unearthed due to RTI Act. But that Act does not have the power to send culprits to jail. The Jan Lokpal bill has that power. That is why we have been asking the government to enact this legislation,” Hazare said.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2340143.ece

LOK PAL BILL: “Opposition must stand up and fight”!

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Gargi Parsai, The Hindu / NEW DELHI, August 1, 2011.

Civil society activist Anna Hazare addresses the media in New Delhi on Monday. Photo: Ramesh Sharma.

Just who is covered under this Bill, asks Arvind Kejriwal

With 85 per cent people in a single parliamentary constituency supporting the Jan Lokpal Bill as opposed to the government's Lokpal Bill, social activist Anna Hazare on Monday termed as “unfortunate” Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's justification for keeping his office out of its purview.

Questioning the government's intention, he called upon the Opposition parties to fight for a strong Lokpal Bill. “In a democracy both the government and the Opposition are important. But when the ruling alliance becomes weak, the Opposition parties must stand up and fight.”

Addressing a press conference here, he said he and the people had believed that the country had a Prime Minister who was honest and non-corrupt, “but after his recent statement, we wonder whether an honest person is being dishonest.” Dr. Singh had recently said that it was “not advisable” to bring the office of the Prime Minister under the ambit of the Lokpal Bill.

Even as the government is all set to introduce the Cabinet-approved Lokpal Bill in Parliament this week, he said, “Our fight is not against Parliament. It is against the government…I had written a letter to the Prime Minister on July 18 but he has not replied.”

Standing firm on his resolve to go on an indefinite fast from August 16 to demand a Bill that was “structurally strong,” he said he was not insisting on undertaking a fast at Jantar Mantar because the issue, for him, was more important than the venue.

01) By now analysts of all Political Parties must have done their study of each version of the bill and also must have made up their mind on their stand on each of the points;

02) As for referendum on such a delicate subject, people not knowing what they are voting for and with many more such criticisms has lost its sheen;

03)  As and when the bill is introduced in Parliament, the MPs would decide on their stand based on their individual party's stand.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2313532.ece

LOK PAL BILL: Team Anna rejects Lokpal Bill cleared by Union Cabinet!

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PTI / The Hindu / NEW DELHI, July 28, 2011.

Civil Society activists Kiran Bedi and Prashant Bhushan during a press conference in New Delhi on Thursday - PTI.

Anna Hazare will sit on an indefinite fast again in New Delhi from August 16 demanding the withdrawal of the government-approved version of the Bill.

The Anna Hazare team on Thursday dismissed the Lokpal Bill approved by government as a “cruel joke” which will be struck down as unconstitutional by Supreme Court “within a minute” and said the Gandhian will sit on an indefinite fast here from August 16 demanding its withdrawal.

Accusing the government of bringing a “fractured Lokpal” for corporates and to “fool” people, the activists said they may challenge the Bill if passed by Parliament in its present form by keeping the Prime Minister out its ambit.

“The entire country will protest with me at Jantar Mantar on August 16...This is not Hazare’s protest but the entire country’s. The people need to look at this as a second fight for their freedom and they should all come out on the streets,” Mr. Hazare said in Maharashtra’s Ralegaon Siddi.

His asscociate Arvind Kejriwal told reporters in New Delhi that Mr. Hazare’s fast will be to demand withdrawal of the Bill cleared by the Cabinet and bring a stronger law in place of the bill, which he alleged would not give any succour to common people in the fight against corruption.

The Bill proposes to keep the office of Prime Minister outside its purview during his term in office besides excluding higher judiciary and conduct of MPs inside Parliament.

Disappointed at the government “leaving out majority” of the points raised by the civil society, lawyer Prashant Bhushan said the government’s decision to exclude the office of Prime Minister from the ambit of Lokpal would not stand the scrutiny of court.

01) For over four decades the Lok Pal hasn't been established at all due to differences of opinion on the inclusion of the Top-4 Constitutional Offices under its purview;

02) Now, for the first time the Government is ready to introduce a Lok Pal Bill, without including the PM and other top Constitutional Officers;

03) It still has to get passed in the Parliament and we will have to wait and see what stand the present leadership of various political parties would take on this Government's Draft;

04) I, personally, never wanted an omnibus bill that would include higher judiciary under Lok Pal's purview, contrary to the views of the Team-Anna, whom we all have been supporting so far;

05) My own reading of the mood of the intelligentsia is that they are tired of not having a Lok Pal in the first place and are unwilling to continue to fight for some Utopian Lok Pal, which the political parties - who ultimately decide the fate of the Lok Pal Bill in the Parliament - would never accept;

06) As for Team-Anna, they should realise that this time around there wouldn't be much support the way people have backed their initiative in the past, due to shear tiredness of the issue getting dragged on for too long;

07) Finally, let there be a Lok Pal in place, to start with and let the future generations of Parliamentarians, Intelligentsia and the Public amend it from time to time, as per the need of the times;

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2302166.ece

LOK PAL BILL: Lokpal Bill: Talks productive, says Anna after meeting with Sonia!

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NDTV Correspondent, Updated: July 02, 2011 17:30 IST.

New Delhi:  Anna Hazare, the face of the India Against Corruption campaign initiated by a group of activists, met Congress President Sonia Gandhi this evening, a day before an all-party meet called by the government to discuss the conflicting versions of the Lokpal Bill, one prepared by five ministers and the other by five activists led by Mr Hazare.

Addressing the media after the brief 20 meeting, Mr Hazare said the talks were productive and that he discussed 15 issues concerning the Lokpal draft with the Congress President. He also told Mrs Gandhi that the correct draft of the Lokpal bill should be introduced in Parliament, otherwise he will go on fast from August 15.

In the course of his campaign for the Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare wrote several letters to Sonia Gandhi. In these letters, he reacted sharply to Congress leaders accusing him of having links with the RSS and the BJP. He wrote to Sonia Gandhi that he was hurt by Congress leaders' "smear campaign" and that it was a conspiracy to defame him. In another letter, he also urged Sonia Gandhi to discuss the Lokpal draft in the National Advisory Council.

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http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/lokpal-bill-talks-productive-says-anna-after-meeting-with-sonia-116322?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NdtvNews-TopStories+%28NDTV+News+-+Top+Stories%29

Lok Pal Bill: Government trying to mislead nation: Hazare!

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• June 22, 2011 
• IANS 
• New Delhi / DC.

• 
  

• 

• (File image) Kapil Sibbal and Anna Hazare come out after attending a meeting of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee in New Delhi - PTI.

• 
  

• Civil society representatives on Wednesday hit out at the government for saying they wanted to create a ‘parallel government’ through an ombudsman and said their draft anti-graft bill aimed for an autonomous Lokpal free of government interference.
  Addressing a press conference a day after the final meeting of the 10-member draft Lokpal bill panel, comprising five each from the civil society and the government, noted social activist Anna Hazare accused the government of trying to mislead the people on the legislation.
  The anti-corruption crusader vowed to launch a hunger strike from August 16 at Jantar Mantar in the heart of the capital if a strong Lokpal bill, as demanded by them, is not passed by parliament.
  "We are ready for everything, whether the government lathi charges, we will sit on hunger strike if our demands are not met," Hazare said.
  "We don't want a parallel government. We want an autonomous Lokpal on the lines of Election Commission, and the government can't interfere in its function. We have the Supreme Court and the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which they cannot interfere in," Hazare said.

• 01) But for Team-Anna, UPA Government wouldn't have come this far on Lokpal Bill!

• 
  

• 02) Repeated accusations on the dishonesty of the Government has already antagonised the Team-UPA that they too have hardened their stand on the threat of future fast-onto-death by Anna!

• 
  

• 03) After all one can only pressurise the Government with one weapon, once!

• 
  

• 04) After seeing how Ramdev, the great Yogi, wilted within One Week of undertaking his  

fast-onto-death, government too has learnt some lessons!

05) Government also has its limitations and without the support of the majority of MPs in Parliament, no bill can become an Act, for which a consensus needs to be built by it among all the political parties.

06) Team-Anna, blissfully, is oblivious to these realities and has been harping on the much repeated theory of the Government's insincerity on Lokpal and the general public has realised of this aspect!

07) Any further pressure won't serve any purpose and the Team-Anna better realise it, the sooner, the better!

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/government-trying-mislead-nation-hazare-065

Lok Pal Bill: Mamata sees no point in inclusion of PM under Lokpal!

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PTI / The Hindu.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee during an interaction with the media in New Delhi on Tuesday - PTI.

Inclusion of Prime Minister or Chief Justice of India in the ambit of Lokpal “hardly matters” in the fight against corruption, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday.

“It is not a big question...whether Prime Minister or Chief Justice is included, it hardly matters. Do you think that inclusion of one person will strengthen the fight against corruption?” she asked.

However, she also said that in case the Prime Minister is included in the ambit of Lokpal, “I have no problem. I am with the UPA.”

To a question, she denied that she had blamed civil society groups for enacting “drama” on the issue of corruption.

In an apparent dig at civil society, she had yesterday said: “Our party is against corruption. But we are also against creating drama.”

On the same count, she might also not want CM's to be under the purview of the Investigative powers of 'Lok Ayukthas' at State level, which is not a good sign!

This also is an indication of who will vote for a truly Comprehensive Lokpal Bill!

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2123510.ece

Lok Pal Bill: PM's post may be brought under Lokpal purview with riders!

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June 21, 2011 

PTI 

New Delhi / DC.

Civil society activists Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan come out after the Lokpal Bill drafting committee meeting at North Block in New Delhi - PTI.

The post of Prime Minister may be brought under the purview of Lokpal with certain riders like holding the enquiry only after the person demits office, notwithstanding the intense face-off between the government and Anna Hazare team.

The possibility of such a formulation making its way to the draft bill became stronger when the government nominees in the joint drafting committee discussed this aspect among themselves at a recent meeting.

Sources said that at the sixth meeting of the committee, which was boycotted by the Hazare team, the ministers discussed various formulations of bringing the post of Prime Minister under Lokpal in case of allegations.

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/pms-post-may-be-brought-under-lokpal-purview-riders-682

Lok Pal Bill: Is the government serious about dealing with corruption?!

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TEAM ANNA / the Hindu.

Union Ministers and the members of Lokpal Bill drafting committee P. Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid address a press conference in New Delhi recently. File photo: S. Subramanium - The Hindu.

The Lokpal is designed to be a comprehensive anti-corruption institution independent of the government, empowered to effectively investigate corruption of all public servants. But most of the critical elements in this vision have been rejected.

The latest draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on hydrocarbon production sharing contracts and the transfer of oilfields to Reliance is only the latest of the mega scams to surface in the country. The breadth and depth of corruption in India is clear from the country's plunging ranking in Transparency International's global corruption survey. Corruption has come to affect every citizen in the country. Bribes have to be paid for ration cards, passports, building permits, and for doing even normal business. Street vendors and rickshaw pullers are forced to pay bribes for exercising their fundamental rights. Villagers are forced to pay bribes for getting their wages under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) or for any other entitlements in other schemes. High-level corruption is plundering the public exchequer, distorting government policies, and creating a criminal mafia, which has come to dominate all institutions of power. Low-level corruption is making life impossible for common citizens.

A major reason for this rampant, widespread corruption is the lack of an independent, empowered, and accountable anti-corruption institution that can be trusted to credibly investigate complaints of corruption and prosecute the guilty. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is controlled by the very people who are the fountainheads of this corruption and is required to seek the permission of the very people who need to be investigated and prosecuted. The Central Vigilance Commissioner of India (CVC) is selected by the Prime Minister, the Home Minister, and the Leader of Opposition, who have a vested interest in ensuring that weak bureaucrats get selected. Moreover, the CVC has only recommendatory powers and most of his or her recommendations are disregarded by the government, which wants to protect corrupt public servants. The courts take years to conclude trials and there is also considerable corruption in the judiciary because of the lack of accountability of the higher judiciary and the lack of an effective anti-corruption agency to investigate corruption within its ranks.

This is why we have been demanding the constitution of an independent Lokpal institution — which will be completely independent of the government, empowered to effectively investigate corruption of all public servants of the Central government, including the Prime Minister, the judiciary, etc. (with Lokayuktas in the States to investigate public servants of the State governments and local bodies), and accountable in multiple ways to ensure that any corruption in the Lokpal institution would be immediately investigated and action taken. This is exactly what is required by the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), which has just been ratified by India after much delay.

Team Anna has put in its right earnest efforts to put the Lok Pal Bill in right perspective and the UPA Government too has accommodated them to voice their views on it.

Now the ball is in the court of Political Parties; they needed to be given opportunity to take a stand on various issues of the Draft Lok Pal Bill.

Only then it can be introduced in the Parliament, which decides on the fate of it.

Full Story at,

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article2118287.ece

Lok Pal Bill: All-party meet likely on Lokpal!

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• June 18, 2011 
• PTI 
• New Delhi / D.C..

Lokpal committee meets in New Delhi - AP.

With the issue of bringing Prime Minister within the ambit of the Lokpal remaining a ticklish affair, Government is expected to soon call an all-party meeting to seek views across the political spectrum.

This became clear today after a meeting of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi had with top party leaders favouring such parleys against the backdrop of widening differences between the government and the civil society representatives led by Anna Hazare on the issue.

Grappling with the issue and other sensitive matters like Telangana, the Congress Core Group headed by Gandhi met for today, the second meeting coming just after its two-hour long deliberations last night. Today's meeting also discussed Telangana problem.

While it is never too late to do the right thing, UPA has put the cart before the horse, literally, by constituting the Joint-Draft Committee on Lokpal, before the all party meet!

To eliminate any further discontentment, from any other pressure groups, a broad based public consultation too is essential before an acceptable Lokpal Bill is introduced in Parliament!!

Once, in place as we gain experience of it, further improvisations can be done through amendments!!!

Full Story at,

http://www.deccanchronicle.com/channels/nation/north/all-party-meet-likely-lokpal-202