Jan Lokpal bill: Congress refuses to back Lokpal bill by Aam Aadmi Party government
- 5 years ago
Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government seems set for a confrontation over its pet proposal - the anti-corruption Jan Lokpal bill - after a top lawyer has reportedly advised that the bill has to be cleared by the Centre before it is taken up in the Delhi legislature.
Mohan Parasaran, the Solicitor General, has reportedly said that before the Delhi legislature debates or votes on the bill, it must be cleared by the Union Home Ministry. That legal opinion is based on the fact that Lokpal or the ombudsman agency that is created the bill will be funded at least in part by the Union government.
AAP is apparently ready to contest that. "The Constitution gives us the right. What the solicitor general has advised and what are the clauses he has cited we have to see, but I would like to say that no one is above and more supreme than an elected government and an elected Vidhan Sabha (legislature) and the Constitution guarantees this," said Delhi minister Manish Sisodia
Mr Kejriwal has declared that from February 13, the Jan Lokpal bill will be reviewed and then voted upon by the state's law-makers in a special four-day session at a city stadium, where people have been invited.
But the legal hurdle sets the stage for a new conflict between the Chief Minister and the Centre, whose top ministers he has repeatedly disdained as corrupt. Union minister Manish Tewari said, "If at all the solicitor has said so then it's our duty to protect the Constitution."
In 2011, Mr Kejriwal and his mentor, Anna Hazare, led a campaign to demand that Parliament pass the Lokpal Bill to create an independent agency to check graft among officials. It was not till December 2013, that the law was enacted with cross-party support.
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Mohan Parasaran, the Solicitor General, has reportedly said that before the Delhi legislature debates or votes on the bill, it must be cleared by the Union Home Ministry. That legal opinion is based on the fact that Lokpal or the ombudsman agency that is created the bill will be funded at least in part by the Union government.
AAP is apparently ready to contest that. "The Constitution gives us the right. What the solicitor general has advised and what are the clauses he has cited we have to see, but I would like to say that no one is above and more supreme than an elected government and an elected Vidhan Sabha (legislature) and the Constitution guarantees this," said Delhi minister Manish Sisodia
Mr Kejriwal has declared that from February 13, the Jan Lokpal bill will be reviewed and then voted upon by the state's law-makers in a special four-day session at a city stadium, where people have been invited.
But the legal hurdle sets the stage for a new conflict between the Chief Minister and the Centre, whose top ministers he has repeatedly disdained as corrupt. Union minister Manish Tewari said, "If at all the solicitor has said so then it's our duty to protect the Constitution."
In 2011, Mr Kejriwal and his mentor, Anna Hazare, led a campaign to demand that Parliament pass the Lokpal Bill to create an independent agency to check graft among officials. It was not till December 2013, that the law was enacted with cross-party support.
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