Centre to push key anti-graft legislations

Faced with a growing clamour to bring the Prime Minister and lower bureaucracy under the anti-graft lokpal's ambit, the government is likely to work on both demands as it braces for a busy week ahead on the issue.

Faced with a growing clamour to bring the Prime Minister and lower bureaucracy under the anti-graft lokpal's ambit, the government is likely to work on both demands as it braces for a busy week ahead on the issue.

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The government also seems set to push the judicial accountability bill, the whistleblower's bill and the grievance redressal draft bill (commonly known as the citizen's charter) at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday to present a comprehensive anti-corruption framework to the Parliament, highly placed sources said.

"The Prime Minister is keen that his office should be included under the purview of the lokpal," parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said.

The Congress leadership is also learnt to have given its nod for bringing the lower bureaucracy (Group C employees) and the anti-corruption wing of the CBI within the lokpal's ambit. These were among the key demands of Anna Hazare and his team.

A senior government official pointed out that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was always keen to be made accountable to the lokpal but his cabinet colleagues differed.

"The issue of the PM was kept as a final bargaining point since we all along knew that the opposition would insist on this," said a senior minister.

After finalising its stand at the cabinet meeting, the government will discuss the tricky lokpal issue with its allies before going to the all-party meet on Wednesday.

The government will make changes in the lokpal bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on August 4 by minister of state for personnel and training V Narayanasamy.

The judicial accountability and the whistleblower's bills have been amended to incorporate some of the recommendations made by the parliamentary standing committee, which examined these bills.