Lokpal bill not under duress, all views considered: Pranab (Lead)
December 27th, 2011 - 11:42 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Dec 27 (IANS) Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday forcefully countered the opposition’s charge that the Lokpal bill has been tabled under duress and stressed that all proposals and views have been shared with other political parties.
“There is a long history of the last six months. We entered into a dialogue with civil society,” Mukherjee said while replying to over nine-hour debate in the Lok Sabha on the Lokpal bill while recalling several times the legislation has been discussed by parliament.
“It is not under duress but we wanted to have a strong anti-corruption legislation in the form of a Lokpal, an ombudsman which will examine corruption in high places,” said Mukherjee, Leader of the House in the Lok Sabha, while asking MPs to pass the Lokpal legislation.
“All the proposals, including reservations for the Scheduled Castes, STs (scheduled tribes) and women, were shared with political parties. Nothing has come out of the hat of a magician,” said Mukherjee.
Making a forceful pitch for an effective anti-graft legislation, he stressed that safeguards have been built into the legislation while bringing the prime minister within the ambit of the Lokpal.
He also refuted the critics’ charge that the process of the selection of the Lokpal could make him vulnerable to pressures of the government of the day.
Mukherjee was speaking in the Lok Sabha after MPs debated the pros and cons of the Lokpal bill even as Anna Hazare started a three-day fast in Mumbai for a strong anti-graft ombudsman.
Earlier, while intervening, the prime minister underlined that the bill lived up to the promise MPs “collectively made to the people of the country” with a ’sense of house’ resolution in August when Hazare staged his 12-day fast in Delhi.
Mukherjee also accused the opposition parties of wasting the time of parliament, which has prevented the passage of important legislations and stressed that if it continued, parliament will lose respect of society.
“We wasted enough time in the parliament. That’s why so many bills were not passed. If we continue like this, it will lose respect of all other sections of society,” he said.
He was reacting to the opposition’s charge that the Lokpal bill was been tabled in a hurry.
- Bill not tabled in a hurry: Pranab - Dec 27, 2011
- Opposition wasting parliament's time: Pranab - Dec 27, 2011
- Amid opposition, Lokpal bill tabled with minority quota (Lead) - Dec 22, 2011
- BJP 'disappointed' with Lokpal bill, Lalu fumes - Dec 22, 2011
- Lokpal bill passed in Lok Sabha (Lead) - Dec 28, 2011
- Cabinet to discuss Lokpal bill Tuesday, Hazare calls it worthless (Roundup) - Dec 19, 2011
- Lokpal bill passed amid Anna fast, but Congress stumped (Roundup) - Dec 28, 2011
- Government plans Lokpal bill in winter session; Anna threatens agitation - Dec 15, 2011
- Parliament to decide Lokpal bill's final shape: Pranab - Dec 26, 2011
- Lokpal bill up for debate in Rajya Sabha (Lead) - Dec 29, 2011
- Leave Lokpal to parliament's wisdom: Government (Lead) - Dec 26, 2011
- Lok Sabha passes Lokpal bill but no constitutional status (Second Lead) - Dec 28, 2011
- PM's all-party meet fails to break Lokpal jam (Lead) - Mar 23, 2012
- Hazare's path 'fraught with grave consequences', says PM (Second Lead) - Aug 17, 2011
- Lokpal debate bypassing standing committee: Lalu Prasad - Aug 27, 2011
Tags: ambit, anna hazare, castes, corruption, duress, finance minister, legislations, Lok Sabha, magician, mps, mumbai, New Delhi, ombudsman, opposition parties, political parties, pranab mukherjee, prime minister, pros and cons, safeguards, several times