Lokpal Bill in RS on Monday

Friday, 13/12/2013

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New Delhi: The Lokpal Bill will be taken up in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, the government said on Thursday asserting that the passage of the Bill is its ‘heartfelt desire.’

“Monday is decided as the day for it in Rajya Sabha... It is our heartfelt desire that the Lokpal is passed. That we have enlisted it in this session for passage is a clear indication of this,” Union minister Harish Rawat told reporters replying to a question at a Congress briefing in Parliament House.

Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said the government would list the measure in the Rajya Sabha on Friday as a ‘priority.’

Friday being reserved for private members business, the Bill will now be taken on Monday and six hours time has been allotted for it, Parliament sources said.

The Congress also rejected BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s allegation that the UPA government was not keen on passage of key Bills including Lokpal.

“Some friends, who are important leaders in their party, have tried to create this impression that the government is not interested in pushing the legislative business... I strongly refute it. Facts tell us otherwise. We are not getting the support, we should have got...”

“Both the ruling and the Opposition party together have a big role to play in creating a (working) atmosphere in Parliament. They are trying to project that the ruling party alone has the responsibility,” he said.

The government is under pressure from anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare who started an indefinite hunger strike three days ago to press for early passage of the Lokpal Bill.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj accused the government of trying to cut short the session, thereby stalling the anti-graft bill and said her party is keen that it is taken up without delay.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party made it clear that it would oppose the Bill in the Rajya Sabha while the JD(U) and NCP supported its early passage. There was no question of supporting it, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said outside Parliament.

AAP reaches out to Hazare

Ralegan Siddhi: Reflecting a thaw in their relations with Anna Hazare, a team of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday called on the Gandhian whose indefinite fast entered its third day and vowed to continue lending support to his fight for an effective Jan Lokpal. Terming Hazare as ‘a permanent source of inspiration’ for his party, Kumar Vishwas, a frontline AAP leader, trashed talks of continued differences with the anti-graft campaigner. Vishwas, who along with five others was despatched here to express solidarity with 76-year-old Hazare, fasting for passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill pending in the Rajya Sabha for two years, said their leader Arvind Kejriwal too wanted to come but could not as he was indisposed.

“Kejriwal is not well but he spoke to Anna who gave him his blessings. He also asked Arvind to take care of his health as he has to fight a big battle for the country. “Kejriwal also requested Anna to call off his fast but was told that a Parliamentary select committee has made some suggestions and he wanted to see in what form the Jan Lokpal Bill is presented in the RS,” Vishwas said.

“If Bill is not along the lines of the draft that was passed by Anna, we will not accept it,” he said.