Digvijaya backs Maya on dalit member in Lokpal panel

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday raised another controversy by backing UP chief minister Mayawati’s demand for including a dalit representative in the Lokpal drafting committee. HT reports.

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Saturday raised another controversy by backing UP chief minister Mayawati’s demand for including a dalit representative in the Lokpal drafting committee. “The demand is valid,’’ he said even while noting that the panel has already begun its work.

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His party however steered clear of the issue. “These are matters for the government and the committee to decide and it is not for the party to comment on it. As of now there is no change about the committee…,’’ said Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi.

Meanwhile, water resources minister Salman Khurshid, who is on the panel, ruled out its reconstitution.

Singh is among those who led the battle of the political class with the activists and may have made the remarks because of next year’s assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.

But his frequent comments on the panel have stirred up controversies. Karnataka lokayukta Santosh Hegde even threatened to quit the panel after he accused him of failing to curb corruption in the state.

On Saturday, Hegde decided to stay on.

The Congress leader's latest remarks come a day after the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee said that the panel's working would not be affected by the controversies raised about its members.