Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law and Justice Abhishek Manu Singhvi has sought a four-day extension for submitting the panel’s report on the Lokpal Bill.
Sources disclosed that Rajya Sabha chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari has asked Singhvi to meet him tomorrow to explain the reasons for the delay.
Singhvi, who needs a nod from Ansari because the administrative control of the committee is vested in him, told The Indian Express that the “short extension has been necessitated for adoption, printing, translation and presentation”.
Sources disclosed that Singhvi, who was expected to table the report in Parliament on Wednesday, has instead called a meeting of the committee on Wednesday evening for a final approval of the draft report. The sources explained that the meeting was required on account of the unusually large number of dissent notes. Practically, all members of the committee belonging to opposition parties have chosen to differ with the majority’s view. The main issues for divergent views were the exclusion of Prime Minister and Group C officers from the domain of Lokpal.
Given the fact that half the session is over and the report maybe ready in a week, the government will have to race against time to consider the recommendations, make suitable changes in the Lokpal Bill, and come back to Parliament with an amended version. There is no way the government can avoid bringing the Lokpal Bill in Parliament when Team Anna is waiting in the wings to embark on a fresh agitation.