Lokpal logjam: Govt bends 70%, Anna Hazare demands 90%
A day after TOI front-paged an 'appeal' to both sides to seek common ground for the sake of the nation, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Anna Hazare, who has been on fast for eight days, saying the government would request the Lok Sabha Speaker to "formally refer the Jan Lokpal bill to the standing committee". This panel would consider all versions, including the government's, Team Anna's and Aruna Roy's.
The olive branch came just before the government agreed to consider Team Anna's demand to put the Prime Minister under the Lokpal's purview (as reported by TOI in Tuesday's paper) and merge the CBI's anti-corruption wing with the proposed ombudsman. The government has agreed to enact the Judicial Standards and Accountability bill to deal with corruption in higher judiciary. It said that this legislation would be vetted by the Hazare group.
The sticking points are: Civil society's demand to include the lower bureaucracy in the Lokpal's ambit; enacting Lokayuktas for states; extending Lokpal's jurisdiction to cover the conduct of MPs inside Parliament; adoption of a citizen's charter by every government department that lays down the duties of officials and punishments for non-performance.
Civil society has asked the government to give acommitment in writing that the Jan Lokpal bill will be passed in the current session itself after withdrawing the official bill from the standing committee or allowing it to lapse. The government, which described the talks as "fruitful", plans to respond on Wednesday. It will discuss the issue at an all-party meeting the Prime Minister has called today. Singh will also review the situation at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs.
Last Thursday, TOI had suggested, as a possible solution , that the standing committee of Parliament consider both the Jan Lokpal bill and the government's version, but members of the government and the Congress had at the time indicated it wasn't a feasible idea. On Tuesday, however, they chose to be flexible.
In fact, there was a clear attempt to de-escalate tension, with the government and Team Anna appearing to move closer to an understanding on two contentious issues. During talks through the day, the government indicated that it was ready to put the PM within the Lokpal's ambit with riders to protect the top office from motivated allegations.
The Hazare camp appeared to agree that corruption in higher judiciary should be dealt with by a proposed law on judicial standards and accountability. The possibility of an early resolution, however, looked slim with Hazare insisting on carrying on with his fast and asking that the Jan Lokpal bill be sent directly to Parliament, skipping standing committee scrutiny.
