New Delhi, Nov 30 (IANS) The parliamentary standing committee on law and justice, examining the Lokpal bill, is still divided over the inclusion of the prime minister within the ambit of the anti-graft ombudsman.
Sources said opposition members from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India and the Communist Party of India-Marxist plan to give dissenting notes to the panel on the issue.
Interestingly, Lok Jan Shakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan has also given a dissent note to the panel asking reservation for Dalit, backwards and minorities in the Lokpal.
Besides bringing the prime minister under the Lokpal, the other issue to be resolved is inclusion of lower bureaucracy under the anti-graft ombudsman.
While there is general agreement on bringing Group A and B staff under the Lokpal, some opposition members want the Group C and D staff also to be under the anti-graft ombudsman.
There is general agreement on a constitutional status for the Lokpal, retaining the autonomy of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Central Vigilance Commission, and keeping the judiciary out of its ambit, said sources.
Once the standing committee has submitted its recommendations to parliament, the government can introduce the Lokpal bill.
The development comes in the wake of reports that Anna Hazare plans to stage a day-long protest at Jantar Mantar Dec 11 demanding a strong Lokpal bill and an extended one at Ramlila Ground Dec 27-Jan 5 if the bill is not passed in the ongoing winter session of parliament.
