Thaindian News

New Delhi, Nov 15 (IANS) The parliamentary panel examining the Lokpal bill should include the junior most government official under the ambit of the proposed legislation to remove corruption from society, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said Tuesday.

Bedi told reporters that the bill “will be incomplete if officials of Group C and D are not included” under the ambit of the bill, which aims to check corruption in higher places.

The parliamentary standing committee on law and order, which is examining the Lokpal issue, is said to have recommended that Group B officials be put under the purview of the ombudsman. It had originally proposed to include only Group A government officials.

“Lokpal is for extortionist corruption and not for collusive corruption. Anna Hazare’s demand was to include all public officials from minister to peon under the bill,” the former cop said.

In a statement issued here, Team Anna, headed by crusader Anna Hazare, said they “welcome the committee’s decision to provide for Lokayuktas in states through the same Bill”.

“We also welcome their decision to include Group B officials in its ambit,” it said.

But they appealed to the committee to reconsider including Group C and Group D officials under the bill’s ambit.

“Where would a poor person, whose ration has been siphoned off, go? Almost Rs 30,000 crores worth of rations are siphoned off every year. And it is Group C and Group D officials who are involved in it. A postman demands ten percent bribe to give your money order. Postman is a Group D official. Where should victim of postman’s corruption go?” it added.

“Anna has been concerned about the corruption of a common man,” it said.

They also said that the “corruption of Judges have been kept out of Judicial Accountability Bill. They are now proposed to be kept out of Lokpal Bill”.

“Then where should we complain about the corruption of a High Court or Supreme Court judge?,” the statement said.

The committee was set up to study the final version of the Lokpal bill.

Hazare has threatened that if the bill was not introduced in the winter session of the parliament he would go on another hunger strike. He has successfully held two such campaigns in New Delhi in April and August, forcing the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government to set up the committee.