Standing committee may finish Lokpal Bill consultation in 2 months

NEW DELHI: The parliamentary standing committee on law and justice may finish its work within two months ensuring that the Lokpal Bill is ready to be tabled in the winter session of Parliament.
Anna Hazare aides Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal met standing committee chairman Abhishek Singhvi on the issue of timeline. Team Anna is keen to keep the pressure on the government and Parliament on the anti-graft law.
Bhushan quoted Singhvi as saying, "The deadline of October-end for the committee to complete its report will be met so that it (the bill) could be considered in the winter session of Parliament."
"We had come to find out how the standing committee will proceed and the time it will take," Bhushan told reporters after his 40-minute interaction with Singhvi.
Bhushan quoted Singhvi as saying that all those interested in giving suggestions on the Lokpal issue would be invited and the committee would consider "all the bills".
The Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by Team Anna was referred to the committee by DoPT recently while the official Lokpal Bill introduced in Lok Sabha was referred to the panel on August 8.
Soon after the Lokpal Bill was referred to the committee, Hazare and his associates had deposed before it and said the panel should ask the government to withdraw the Lokpal Bill as it would "encourage corruption".
Bhushan said "ideally" his associates would have liked the committee to complete its report in one month and Parliament to pass the Lokpal Bill during a 'special session'. The committee is meeting on September 7 to discuss the various aspects of the issue.
The meeting is being held days after both Houses of Parliament adopted a 'sense of the House' resolution on three key issues raised by Hazare with regard to the Lokpal Bill with an aim to persuade him to end his 12-day hunger strike.
Parliament had agreed in principle on the citizen's charter, bringing lower bureaucracy under Lokpal and establishment of Lokayuktas in states. The proceedings have since been sent to the committee for its perusal while formulating its recommendations on Lokpal Bill.