Bill drafting to be over by June 30: Sibal
New Delhi, April 8, DHNS:
Union Minister Kapil Sibal on Saturday said the government and the civil society have agreed that the drafting of the Lokpal Bill would be completed before June 30, 2011.
While announcing the agreement reached with the anti-corruption agitators, Sibal said once the draft bill is ready, it will be placed before the cabinet and then Parliament.
Describing the resolution of the issue as victory for democracy, Sibal said: “This shows that if we sit across and have dialogue, we can easily resolve our differences. In our fight against corruption, we are on the same page with the civil society. We are together. I am happy that we are now ending these days of uncertainty. We have reached a resolution in which both sides had confidence in each other”.
He added that now the important task before the government is to issue “an appropriate government order”. “As soon as the GO is issued, we will ensure that further proceedings of the committee begins. We also believe that whatever required to be done should be done by June 30 so that we are able to introduce it in the monsoon session of Parliament [which commences in July second-half]. It is a happy day for us, a victory for democracy.
And we should exult in this as it sets a precedent how civil society and government can work together.”
Asked if the government succumbed to pressure, Sibal said people can say anything but “I don’t want to enter into this controversy. The enemy is corruption. All of us should get together to fight it”. He also did not agree that the government was setting a bad precedent. “Anything that helps the society is good. It is the generosity of government that helped in coming to an agreement”.
Former law minister Shanti Bhushan said: “ I am hopeful that this bill would be passed with an unanimous vote whenever it is presented in Parliament”.
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