NEW DELHI: After agreeing to inclusion of Group C government employees within the ambit of Lokpal, the standing committee on law and justice examining the bill recommended its exclusion from the proposed ombudsman's jurisdiction.
The standing committee, which completed its work on Wednesday after deliberating on various points contained in the draft Lokpal bill, had asked BJP, Left and other members to submit their dissenting notes to the panel.
Members, therefore, were surprised when they were told about another standing committee meeting on Thursday evening. Group C category, accounting for 57 lakh, is the largest component of central government employees and have a direct interaction with people in general. It is corruption at the lower bureaucracy level which affects the common man the most.
Exclusion of this category at the last moment, therefore, saw members of BJP, Left and Samajwadi Party crying foul. "If Opposition members felt Group C had been included in yesterday's (Wednesday) meetings, that's their point of view. Wait for the report,'' Singhvi told newspersons after the panel's meeting. The meeting, which lasted about two hours, saw BJP MPs tabling their dissent on as many as 18 recommendations.
They included exclusion of Group C employees, omission of the prime minister from Lokpal's ambit till the time he demits office, maintaining status quo on CBI, citizen's charter, grievance redressal mechanism and protection of whistleblowers.
Left members too expressed reservations on these points and were planning to submit their dissenting notes on Monday. SP, BJD and AIADMK also expressed dissent on a few recommendations. The last meeting of the standing committee, headed by Congress Rajya Sabha member Abhishek Manu Singhvi, saw members deliberating on the fate of Group C employees and the status of CBI.
Opposition members on the panel are also said to have resisted the draft legislation's recommendation on the status of CBI. Contrary to the views expressed on the issue by Team Anna, which had sought the agency's bifurcation by chipping away its anti-corruption wing and placing it under the proposed ombudsman.
Source : The Economic Times, December 2, 2011
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