No Lokpal Bill Now: To be Sent to Select Committee
posted on May 21, 2012 @ 4:19PM
Sources in the government hint that Lokpal Bill will not be passed in this session of Parliament. The government and the Opposition have not arrived at any consensus on the amendments by the Government, and that the bill may now be sent to a select committee.
Earlier the Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told that the bill will be tabled in the Rajya Sabha today. However, differences between the Government and the Opposition over the role of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) still persist, say sources. The equation between the CBI and the Lokpal has been one of the biggest bones of contention. Parties like the BJP want the chief of the CBI to be picked by a committee, instead of by just the government - changes like this, they argue, will ensure the autonomy of the CBI.
The government today held talks with the BJP and the Left parties. The Samajwadi Party and the AIADMK had reportedly demanded that the bill be referred to a select committee.