Lokpal panel meets amid differences (Lead)
June 20th, 2011 - 1:15 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, June 20 (IANS) Civil society members led by Anna Hazare and government representatives met here Monday amid major differences between them on a proposed Lokpal bill.
“We will be taking our draft, the government will also hopefully bring its own draft. There will be talks on both the drafts, and we hope the issue will move forward,” lawyer and Hazare confidant Prashant Bhushan said.
Another meeting is scheduled Tuesday. “It would be difficult to reach a consensus in two meetings. We will try and narrow (them) down as much as possible,” he admitted to reporters.
There are five representatives each from the government and the civil society in the committee that was set up in April to frame a comprehensive Lokpal bill to fight corruption in high places.
From bonhomie at the start, the two sides have got locked in a war of words in recent weeks over various issues including whether or not to bring the prime minister within the ambit of the Lokpal.
Besides Hazare and Prashant Bhushan, other civil society activists on the panel are Arvind Kejriwal, Santosh Hegde and Shanti Bhushan.
The government is represented by cabinet ministers Pranab Mukherjee, P. Chidambaram, M. Veerappa Moily, Salman Khurshid and Kapil Sibal.
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Tags: ambit, anna hazare, arvind kejriwal, bonhomie, cabinet ministers, civil society activists, confidant, corruption, government representatives, kapil sibal, khurshid, New Delhi, p chidambaram, pranab mukherjee, salman, santosh, shanti, society members, veerappa, war of words