Lokpal draft report a disappointment: Kiran Bedi

Team Anna member Kiran Bedi tonight expressed disappointment at the recommendations in the draft report of Standing Committee on Lokpal Bill, saying going back on commitment given by Parliament will call for mass movement again.

Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Monday night expressed disappointment at the recommendations in the draft report of Standing Committee on Lokpal Bill, saying going back on commitment given by Parliament will call for mass movement again.

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"This is going back on the commitment and will call for mass movement again," Bedi told PTI when asked for her comments on the draft report which sought to keep lower bureacracy out of the ambit of the ombudsman among other things.

The Standing Committee has also recommended keeping out judiciary and MPs'conduct in House out of its purview and rejected the demand for hiving off the prosecution wing of CBI to come under its jurisdiction.

Team Anna has been insisting that the lower bureaucracy, higher judiciary, provisions for Citizen Charter and setting up of Lokayuktas in state level be included in the ambit of Lokpal Bill.

On the exclusion of judiciary, she said, it was a set back to people's demands as "people overwhelmingly wanted judiciary in. By this corruption in judiciary is covered nowhere, neither in Judicial Accountability Bill nor in Lokpal."

Reacting to members unanimously recommending conferring constitutional status on the Lokpal, Bedi said, "this may become the reason for not having it. For the government in power does not have a two thirds majority in Parliament. It will be used to not pass the bill."

However, she welcomed the proposal to bring corporates, media and NGOs under the ambit of Lokpal. "This is welcome. Need to know the exact provisions," she said.