Aruna Roy to present views before Lokpal panel

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Social activist Aruna Roy, also a member of the Sonia Gandhi-led national advisory council, will present her views before the parlimentary standing committee examining the Lokpal Bill 0n Wednesday.

Roy, who had earlier initiated consultations on the Lokpal issue under the NAC aegis, has reservations against the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by Team Anna Hazare. The deposition of Roy, along with colleagues Nikhil Dey and Shekhar Singh of the National Campaign for People's Right to Information becomes significant as the standing committee will now examine the various drafts of the bill submitted to it.

“We will mostly speak about the government Lokpal bill, but in case we are asked to comment about the Jan Lokpal bill, we will do so,” NCPRI activist Shekhar Singh told IANS. Talking about their differences with Team Anna's Jan Lokpal bill, Singh said the NCPRI is against creating a single anti-corruption ombudsman, wants judiciary out of Lokpal ambit and opposes its powers to dismiss erring government staff. The NCPRI has reservations against the government Lokpal bill as it covers only Group A officers and wants to bring other civil servants under the Lokpal.

While the government Lokpal bill excludes the prime minister from its purview, the NCPRI wants the prime minister to be under it but with a few riders. “The prime minister should be covered only after a referrence from a Supreme Court bench,” said Singh. Singh said the government draft bill does not give independence to the Lokpal selection panel. The NCPRI wants any complaints against the Lokpal members to go directly to the apex court. NCPRI members said they may file a few supplementary documents before the standing committee Wednesday.