Lokpal in Progress: Centre tells Anna Hazare

NEW DELHI: The operationalisation of the Lokpal remains a work in progress, the government has informed an organisation backed by social activist Anna Hazare after the organisation sent more than 2,000 representations to the PMO.

The organisation is now planning a massive agitation in association with Hazare to press for the anti-corruption watchdog, its chief Vishnu Kant Sharma said.

“A report submitted by the parliamentary standing committee on the lokpal bill in December , 2015 is presently pending consideration,” the Centre said in a letter to Anna Samarthak Gandhivadi Sangh on March 16. Sharma, however told ET, “We are not satisfied with the reply. The government should get the bill passed in Parliament. Anna has had long meetings with us on the delay and we are planning big protests.”

Hazare wrote a number of letters to PM Modi on the subject, upon which the minister of state in PMO Jitendra Singh replied on August 18 last year. In that letter, the minister said the amendment bill was pending consideration of the standing committee and its last meeting took place on July 16, 2015.

“The reply now says the committee gave its report in December but no further decision has been taken by the government ” Sharma said.