Government releases revised draft of Lokpal bill

The government today released a revised draft of the Lokpal bill incorporating consensus views of the drafting committee comprising both government and civil society members.

Releasing the draft Lokpal bill, law minister M Veerappa Moily said it was the "draft by the government nominees and also the views on which there was consensus in the JDC (joint drafting committee)".

Moily said the draft clearly showed that "we are not adopting a stubborn attitude and are accommodating". "This contains and reflects the points where both of us agree," he added.

Moily also said there was no government bill on the Lokpal and the draft is the result of the consultation process and the final draft would come only after consultations with different political parties.

"Government has not commenced the drafting of the Lokpal bill," he said.

"They (members of civil society) have changed their views many times" and it is difficult to say where they stand, the minister said.

"We have to take along all the political parties, if they don't agree then there will be a difficulty," he said, adding, "It is not a rhetoric. We have to present a bill before parliament."