Government fails to introduce anti-corruption bills in Budget session

NEW DELHI: Amid talk of a possibility of truncated Budget session of Parliament in the absence of legislative business, even the PM-headed Ministry of Personnel will fail to bring two key anti-corruption bills to the House which were earlier pitched by Rahul Gandhi and are now being backed by Narendra Modi as well.

This is despite the PMO writing to the DoPT and the Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances on June 24, well in advance before the Budget Session, informing them that part of the “immediate thrust areas of the government” will be passing the Citizens’ Grievances Bill and Amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act. DoPT and DARPG are departments under the Ministry of Personnel whose portfolio is with the PM.

Both these anti-corruption bills were part of the six bills that Congress VP Rahul Gandhi wanted the Parliament to pass in the last session of the UPA regime, but had later blamed the BJP for stalling the passage of these legislations.