Lokpal bill to be introduced in LS on Aug 4

The much talked about lokpal bill could be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday with the government writing to the Speaker to waive off the two-day period required before introducing a bill.

The highly publicised lokpal bill will be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday, parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said on Tuesday. Bansal said the government had already given a notice to Speaker Meira Kumar to waive the two-day period needed to present a bill.

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Bansal said since all parties favoured introduction of the bill at the earliest, the Speaker could waive the two-day period needed to present a bill required to distribute copies of any new bill to political parties.

Following the government announcement, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare appealed to the MPs in an open letter to oppose the introduction of a 'weak' bill.

"Our paperwork is complete. We’ve written to the Speaker. It’s up to her to take a decision," minister of state for personnel V Narayanasamy had told the reporters earlier in the day.

Preparing for a fresh round of confrontation with the government, Hazare in his open letter to the MPs said it was regrettable that many issues, which were addressing common man's persisting concerns on corruption, had been totally overlooked in the bill cleared by the Cabinet.