Government hopes to pass Jan Lokpal Bill in 15 days

NEW DELHI: Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has announced that his government's priority, now that it has proved majority on the floor of the house, is to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in Delhi. On Thursday, shortly after the trust vote, he said that the government would try and pass the Bill within the next 15-20 days.

"We have a lot of things to do but the most important agenda for the government is to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill. It cannot happen during this session since there are only a few days left for it," Kejriwal said.

The Bill will first have to be tabled before the cabinet, send it to the Centre for approval and then present it in the assembly. With no other session scheduled till around June, since the code of conduct for the Lok Sabha elections is expected to be implemented in the beginning of March, Kejriwal may have to call for a special session to pass this Bill.

Kejriwal said the government would not spare anyone found indulging in corrupt practices. "I assure you that with all the energy and resources at my command, I will ensure that anyone found to be corrupt will be taken to task. The government will come down hard on anyone found to be corrupt, be it in the previous Delhi government, the municipal corporation or even in our government," he said.

The CM added that when the CAG audit report on the discoms would come in, everyone in Delhi would get relief from high power bills. "When we campaigned in Delhi, we realized that people everywhere were getting high power bills. This reduction in tariff is only a temporary relief. The CAG audit will provide relief to many more," he said.