Cong MP to head RS committee for checking Lokpal bill

Congress MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi will head the 15-member Rajya Sabha panel, which will examine the highly publicised Lokpal and Lokayuktas bills.

Congress MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi will head the 15-member Rajya Sabha panel, which will examine the highly publicised Lokpal and Lokayuktas bills.

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The Chaturvedi-led select committee of the House will have to submit its report by the first day of the last week of the monsoon session, according to an official notification from the Rajya Sabha secretariat.

The committee was elected by Rajya Sabha amid high drama on May 21, when the opposition parties — particularly the BJP — charged the government with being "non-serious" on the Lokpal Bill.

The BJP wanted the government to explain why it was referring the bill to the select committee without a fresh discussion in the House.

The government, on the other hand, argued that "sentiments in the House" showed there was no unanimity on the bill and, therefore, the best way forward was to set up a

panel comprising members from all political parties to examine it.

Apart from Chaturvedi, the committee members include leader of the opposition Arun Jaitley, Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Bhupender Yadav (all BJP), Shantaram Naik, Shadi

The Lokpal bill, which was already passed by Lok Sabha on December 27 last year, hit a roadblock in the Upper House. The government failed to get it passed when it was first introduced on December 29, following strong objections from a combined opposition to various provisions of the bill.

During the budget session in March this year, the government tried hard to break the ice on the lokpal bill, but did not succeed. Finally, when the House met after recess, it had to refer the bill to a select panel for further scrutiny.