Govt to discuss Lok Pal Bill with all parties

NEW DELHI: The government is likely to call an all-party meeting to seek their views on the Lok Pal Bill as part of efforts to break a deadlock with civil society representatives on drafting the anti-corruption legislation.

The decision was taken at a two-hour-long meeting of the Congress Core Group, headed by party president Sonia Gandhi. “The government will seek the views of political parties on the draft bill before it goes to the Cabinet. Whatever agreements or disagreements on the draft are there will be presented before parties,” said HRD Minister Kapil Sibal. The meeting of the party brass was the second one in less than 24 hours and came in the backdrop of widening differences between the government and the civil society representatives. The main contentious issue is the inclusion of Prime Minister in the ambit of the transparency legislation.

According to sources, the government is trying to work out a middle path to sort out differences. The government is considering bringing the PM in the ambit after he demits office. “Within the government, we feel prima facie, the Prime Minister should not be covered. But at the same time we want to make sure that if he demits office, he should not be exonerated from prosecution,” said Sibal.

For its part, the BJP said it was not opposed to an all-party meeting. “But firstly, we would like to have the views of the Congress and the government on bringing the PM within the ambit of Lok Pal,” BJP chief spokesperson Ravishankar Prasad said in Patna.