Lokpal bill -

There are lots of my friends who have posted articles for the same topic..I have added here in to know the views & opinions of my friends about the same. Before that I felt I should help my friends to know the basics of the issue arised…There may be things which I also don’t know.So please do share.

Jan Lokpal Bill  -- Lokpal means Protector of the People

The Jan Lokpal Bill also referred to as the citizens' ombudsman bill, is a proposed anti-corruption law in India. It is designed to effectively deter corruption, redress grievances of citizens and protect whistle-blowers. If passed and made into law, the bill seeks to create an ombudsman called the Lokpal (Sanskrit for protector of the people) - an independent body similar to the Election Commission of India with the power to investigate politicians and bureaucrats without prior government permission. First introduced in 1969, the bill has failed to become law for nearly over four decades.

In 2011, Gandhian rights activist Anna Hazare started a Satyagraha movement by commencing a fast unto death in New Delhi to demand the passing of the bill. The movement attracted attention in the media, and thousands of supporters. Following Hazare's four day hunger strike, the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that the bill would be re-introduced in the 2011 monsoon session ofthe Parliament.

Government representation

Five Cabinet ministers will be a part of the Drafting Committee. They are:

§  Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister, Co-Chairman;

§  P. Chidambaram, Minister of Home Affairs;

§  Veerappa Moily, Minister of Corporate Affairs;

§  Kapil Sibal, Minister for Communications and Information Technology; and

§  Salman Khursid, Minister of Law

Civil society representation

Five leading social activists will be a part of the Drafting Committee. They are:

§  Shanti Bhushan, Former Minister of Law and Justice, Co-Chairman;

§  Anna Hazare, Social Activist;

§  Prashant Bhushan, Lawyer;

§  N. Santosh Hegde, Former Lokayukta (Karnataka); and

§  Arvind Kejriwal, RTI Activist.

Attempts to draft a compromise bill, merging the Government's version and that of the civil group's version, by a committee of five Cabinet Ministers and five social activists failed. The Indian governmentintroduced its own version of the bill in the parliament, which the activists consider to be too weak

Key features of proposed bill

Some important features of the proposed bill are:

1.      To establish a central government anti-corruption institution called Lokpal, supported byLokayukta at the state level.

2.      As in the case of the Supreme Court and Cabinet Secretariat, the Lokpal will be supervised by the Cabinet Secretary and the Election Commission. As a result, it will be completely independent of the government and free from ministerial influence in its investigations.

3.      Members will be appointed by judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean record, private citizens and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory process.

4.      A selection committee will invite shortlisted candidates for interviews, videorecordings of which will thereafter be made public.

5.      Every month on its website, the Lokayukta will publish a list of cases dealt with, brief details of each, their outcome and any action taken or proposed. It will also publish lists of all cases received by the Lokayukta during the previous month, cases dealt with and those which are pending.

6.      Investigations of each case must be completed in one year. Any resulting trials should be concluded in the following year, giving a total maximum process time of two years.

7.      Losses caused to the government by a corrupt individual will be recovered at the time of conviction.

8.      Government officework required by a citizen that is not completed within a prescribed time period will result in Lokpal imposing financial penalties on those responsible, which will then be given as compensation to the complainant.

9.      Complaints against any officer of Lokpal will be investigated and completed within a month and, if found to be substantive, will result in the officer being dismissed within two months.

10.  The existing anti-corruption agencies (CVC, departmental vigilance and the anti-corruption branch of the CBI) will be merged into Lokpal which will have complete power and authority to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

11.  Whistleblowers who alert the agency to potential corruption cases will also be provided with protection by it.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it……

 I felt that I should share this with you all because yesterday when I was watching news channels, there were people who had come to support annaji,but they didn’t know what lokpal bill was.

I do believe the motto – “United we stand ,divided we Fall”..

(Sources – Various Sources)