PM briefs Prez on Anna, no plans for special session

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh briefed President Pratibha Patil about the developments leading to Parliament adopting a resolution on Lokpal Bill after a special debate on key areas of concern for Anna Hazare who called off his fast after 12 days, on Sunday. HT reports.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh briefed President Pratibha Patil about the developments leading to Parliament adopting a resolution on Lokpal Bill after a special debate on key areas of concern for Anna Hazare who called off his fast after 12 days, on Sunday.

HT Image

A Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said, "The Prime Minister briefed the President about the ongoing session of the Parliament and also on the consensus resolution passed in both Houses of the Parliament on August 27, 2011 on matters relating to the Lokpal Bill."

Their meeting lasted for about half-an-hour. The government has, meanwhile, indicated it had no plans for a special session or extending the current monsoon session of Parliament beyond September 9 as hoped by Anna Hazare's team member Prashan Bhushan.

Sources said the government had already rejected the demand for extending the session. There was no plan for a special session as the government wanted the standing committee to do its work without hurry.

The standing committee has already indicated that it needed three months to study all the proposals before finalising its report to Parliament. The next session of Parliament would be the winter session, which usually begins at the end of November or first week of December.

Bhushan, who is a senior lawyer, said on Sunday, "We hope that the government convenes a special session of Parliament within a month's time to pass Lokpal Bill. By that time, we hope that the standing committee also completes its work so that the Bill can be passed."