Govt, civil society members meet amicably over draft Lokpal bill

The second meeting of the joint drafting committee for the proposed Lokpal Bill met amicably in New Delhi on Monday, with civil society members presenting two documents to the government, outlining the principles and objects of the legislation.

''The talks were very good and cooperative,'' HRD minister Kapil Sibal told reporters later. ''There were no differences of opinion and we decided to meet again on Saturday.'' He said both sides decided to expedite the process and to finalise the draft by June 30. Sibal was hopeful that the Lokpal bill could be introduced in Parliament soon after its broad contours were finalised.

Lawyer Prashant, whose father, Shanti Bhushan, is the co-chairman of the drafting committee, said the draft of the bill was being prepared on the lines of the UN Convention against Corruption. According to him, all signatories to the convention have to pass a law based on its provisions.

The first meeting of the joint committee was held on April 16, days after anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare called off his 98-hour-long hunger strike, protesting against the government's refusal to accept his Jan Lokpal bill. The government agreed to the setting up of the joint drafting committee, which includes the Bhushan duo, Hazare, Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.

The government is represented by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee (who is the chairman of the drafting committee), home minister P. Chidambaram, law minister Veerappal Moily, water resources minister Salman Khurshid and Sibal.

Differences between the government and the activists had threatened to derail the committee when it met last month, especially after allegations against some of the civil society members surfaced. The latter then accused the government of leaking false information to discredit them.