NEW DELHI, Dec 12: The Lokpal bill will be taken up in Rajya Sabha on Monday, the government today said asserting that the passage of the bill is its “heartfelt desire”.
“Monday is decided as the day for it in Rajya Sabha… It is our heartfelt desire that the Lokpal is passed. That we have enlisted it in this session for passage is a clear indication of this,” Union minister Harish Rawat told reporters replying to a question at a Congress briefing in Parliament House.
Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said the government will list the measure in the Rajya Sabha tomorrow as a “priority”.
Tomorrow being reserved for private members business, the bill will now be taken on Monday and six hours time has been alloted for it, Parliament sources said.
Congress also rejected BJP leader Arun Jaitley’s allegation that the UPA government was not keen on passage of key bills including Lokpal.
“Some friends, who are important leaders in their party, have tried to create this impression that the government is not interested in pushing the legislative business… I strongly refute it. Facts tell us otherwise. We are not getting the support, we should have got…
“Both the ruling and the Opposition party together have a big role to play in creating a (working) atmosphere in Parliament. They are trying to project that the ruling party alone has the responsibility,” he said.
The government is under pressure from anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare who started an indefinite hunger strike three days ago to press for early passage of the Lokpal Bill.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj accused the government of trying to cut short the session, thereby stalling the anti-graft bill and said her party is keen that it is taken up without delay.
Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party made it clear that it will oppose the Bill in the Rajya Sabha while the JD(U) and NCP supported its early passage.
Jaitley alleged that the “bonafides” of the government on the Lokpal issue are suspect noting that though the Select Committee had submitted its report on December 23, 2012, the government still has not brought the Lokpal Bill.
At the AICC briefing, Rawat said that the government has “an open mind” on all issues and on the Lokpal, it has accepted all the 13 recommendations of the Select Committee, which were with consensus.
He said that the issue of Lokpal was discussed in the meeting of the Business Advisory Committee of Rajya Sabha.
BJP said the government should drop two amendments on which there is disagreement. Government is opposed to the amendment which states that the Lokpal should be consulted before a CBI officer probing a case is transferred.
While the Opposition maintains this will check undue interference of the government, the government insists it has the right to post and transfer officials.
The other amendment on which there is no agreement between the government and Opposition is on search and seizure of an official’s property. Government maintains he should be show-caused first when a charge of disproportionate assets is made against him while the Opposition says it will take away the element of suddenness and surprise and alert the person.
Rawat said that there are a number of other important bills also like Womens’ Reservation Bill, whose passage the Congress would like to see by this Lok Sabha.
Replying to a question about no confidence motion brought by Seemandhra MPs of Congress, he said it is surprising that Opposition parties are disrupting the House even when such a “serious issue” is there.
Rawat, however, ducked a query on whether Congress expects BJP to talk to SP and BSP, both outside allies of UPA who are disrupting the House daily on various issues.
“I do not want engage in blame game. We do not want to score points in this,” he said.
Maintaining that the political class views this as the last opportunity for passing the bills, he said that if the Opposition thinks that they will score points if government is not able to carry out its legislative business, they are wrong.
“They will have to answer to people,” he said. (PTI)
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