New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday said the government hoped to bring the anti-graft Lokpal Bill in the monsoon session of parliament that is likely to begin in July.
‘Corruption is a challenge and we must tackle it boldly,’ said Manmohan Singh, addressing bureaucrats after he inaugurated the Civil Services Day here.
Top bureaucrats of the country will be putting their heads together at the event to discuss ethics and transparency in governance, an issue that was highlighted this month by social reformer Anna Hazare and led to the formation of a joint committee of ministers and civil society to draft a Lokpal Bill.
The prime minister said there was a growing feeling among people that laws, systems and procedures were not effective in dealing with corruption in India. ‘We hope to introduce the Lokpal Bill in the monsoon session of parliament,’ he said.
He said there was little public tolerance for the prevailing state of affairs. ‘People expect swift and exemplary action and rightly so,’ he said.
The prime minister will later give away the ‘PM’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration’ for the year 2009-10. The function is being attended, among others, by Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrashekhar and Principal Secretary to the prime minister T.K.A. Nair.
