Cabinet clears Lokpal

The Cabinet has cleared the amended Lokpal bill, excluding political parties from its jurisdiction and also rejecting the proposal for the appointment of the CBI chief by a collegium comprising the PM, the opposition leader and the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
Minister of state for PMO V Narayanasamy informed the Cabinet that political parties were being kept outside the purview of the anti-graft ombudsman as their functioning was covered by the Representation of People’s Act. The explanation is unlikely to convince activist groups led by Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal who feel the bill falls well short of their concept of a strong and independent Lokpal.
The BJP is insistent on a collegium deciding the appointment of the CBI chief rather than the consultative process set out in the bill that was examined by a select committee of Parliament.
Explaining the provision on the appointment of the CBI chief, Narayanasamy claimed a clause existed in the Lokpal bill passed by the Lok Sabha. However, the Lok Sabha version does not envisage a collegium.
Sources said the government is hopeful of the bill’s passage in the budget session as it will need a simple majority that the UPA thinks it can drum up now that a controversial prescription for state Lokayuktas has been dropped.
In the face of a strong public sentiment in favour of accountability and opposition parties looking to put the UPA-2 in the dock over corruption cases, the Manmohan Singh government has travelled considerable distance on the anti-corruption bill, conceding much more than it was willing to earlier.