Lokpal: PM consults Cong top brass -Governance Now

Lokpal: PM consults Cong top brass

If rajya sabha debate fails, joint session to be called

PTI | December 29, 2011

With the fate of the Lokpal Bill remaining uncertain, prime minister Manmohan Singh today held consultations with the Congress top brass including Sonia Gandhi.

The meeting of the Congress core group was held at a time when government is scrambling for numbers to pass the Lokpal Bill in rajya sabha with Trinamool Congress insisting that it will move amendments to delete the provision for setting up Lokayuktas at the state level.

After the meeting, both the prime minister and the Congress president refused to answer questions from reporters whether the Trinamool Congress was "on board" on the Lokpal issue.

The meeting was also attended by senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, A K Antony as also political secretary to Congress president Ahmed Patel.

Union ministers Kapil Sibal and Pawan Kumar Bansal, who are not members of the core group, also participated in the meeting.

Sources said government will keep all options open, including the one to convene a joint session, if the rajya sabha fails to adopt the Lokpal Bill. It all depends on what course the debate in rajya sabha takes place.

Government's thinking is that it would look 'awkward' to again send the bill to a joint select committee when a parliamentary standing committee has gone deep into the issue and come out with an exhaustive report.

Trinamool Congress, which has six members in the rajya sabha, has stated that it will "strongly" oppose the provision and want the deletion of Part III of the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill, 2011 which deals with setting up of Lokayuktas at state level.

The bill passed by lok sabha two days ago has provisions for setting up of Lokayuktas in the states with the consent of state governments.

Comments

Other News

India reaffirms commitment to climate multilateralism

India has reaffirmed its commitment to climate multilateralism and the principles of Equity and Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities (CBDR-RC), calling for a fair, equitable and ambitious outcome at the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framewo

How the mind can help the body heal itself

Why do some people recover from illness against all odds? Can our beliefs, emotions and consciousness influence the body’s ability to heal? Drawing on over three decades of experience in medicine, research and medical innovation, internationally trained ophthalmologist and author Dr Dinesh Verma ex

1,364 anti-cancer formulations to cost less from today

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has capped trade margins on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of 137 anti-cancer drugs. This was based on the recommendations of an Expert Committee constitute

Who checks the books?

I read about the news about the Coimbatore library over coffee this morning. On the face of it, the headline was about a political ‘war’ between the DMK and TVK. But what stayed with me was something much more important than the blame game behind what had transpired. A writer walking through

Development paradox: Falling poverty miracle and an inequality problem

India’s reduction in poverty over the past decade is a development achievement of considerable significance. The World Bank’s April 2026 ‘India Development Update’ estimates that the share of Indians living below the international extreme-poverty line of $3.00 per person per day i

In Arunachal, a river we call mother

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang is not just a river. For many of us, especially the Adi people, it is part of our family. Our grandparents fished in it. Children learned to swim in it. Our farms drink from it. When someone says a huge dam will be built on it, we do not hear the word "project".