Working on effective lokpal: Sonia

The government was committed to eradicating graft and the Opposition should help it in passing some important legislations, including the lokpal bill, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said at a Youth Congress meet Wednesday.

The government was committed to eradicating graft and the Opposition should help it in passing some important legislations, including the lokpal bill, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said at a Youth Congress meet Wednesday.

It was Gandhi's first public meeting after she underwent a surgery abroad in August for an undisclosed ailment. Earlier this month, the 64-year-old leader had to skip a rally in Uttarakhand because of a fever.

Terming graft as the plague of public life, Gandhi, addressing more than 8,000 YC office-bearers at their national convention, said the government was working for an effective lokpal bill.

The remarks come at a time when anti-graft activist Anna Hazare and his team are threatening another round of agitation — third this year — for a "stronger lokpal bill".

Administrative, judicial and poll reforms, including state-funding of elections and fast-tracking of corruption cases, were much-needed, she said.