No unanimity among civil society members over Lokpal Bill: Chidambaram

NEW DELHI: Home minister and member of lokpal joint drafting committee P Chidambaram on Tuesday said that there was no unanimity amongst civil society members over the issue of bringing office of the PM, higher judiciary and conduct of parliamentarians in the purview of Lokpal Bill.

However, the government said that the meeting of the joint committee on Monday was constructive.

The Centre on Tuesday also wrote to states and political parties seeking views on the structure of the proposed Lokpal Bill.

They have also been asked whether there should be a lokpal and lokayukt and whether it should single or multi-member body, the home minister said.

On Monday, a meeting between ministers and civil society leaders on the Lokpal Bill had ended on a bitter note, with activists accusing the government of not being serious about fighting corruption.

Social activist Arvind Kejriwal said it was unacceptable that the government now wanted the PM, judiciary, MPs as well as officers below the rank of joint secretaries out of the purview of the proposed Lokpal.

He wanted to know if this official proposal -- which came as a jolt to Gandhian Anna Hazare and his team -- enjoyed the backing of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.