Tapes show sharp divisions in Lokpal Committee

NEW DELHI: Yet another instance of the sharp divisions between Union Ministers and Team Anna Members came to surface when they discussed structure and powers of the proposed Lokpal during their meetings.

During the conversations, Home Minister summed the key difference on Lokpal envisaged by civil society activists as "executive oversight authority" while that proposed by government being a "quasi-judicial authority".

This was refuted by activist Arvind Kejriwal saying there was not "much difference".

The deliberations of Joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill, comprising 5 Team Anna members and and an equal number of Cabinet Ministers, were made public by the Department of Personnel and Training in response to an RTI application.

The nine-part CD contains among other things discussions between the ministers and civil society members over the powers and structures to be vested in the anti-corruption watchdog.

In one such conversation, activist Anna Hazare wanted to know if an ordinary person acquires proof of corruption at grassroot level, where should he go?

The government proposed that the Lokpal should limit itself to corruption complaints of "group A level" officers but can take a call if allegations pertained to lower bureacracy. The activists however wanted entire bureaucracy to be brought under the Lokpal.

On the issue of checking corruption within Lokpal, lawyer Prashant Bhushan suggested four-layered process including a separate authority to hear complaints against them.

"What would be the size of structure? Starting from the village level that Annaji is suggesting?" Finance Minister and Chairman of drafting committee Pranab Mukherjee asked.