After water and power, Jan Lokpal bill is the next big thing on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s agenda, said chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday after winning the vote of confidence in the Delhi Assembly.
Minutes after winning the trust vote, Kejriwal said: “The next most important thing on our agenda is Jan Lokpal for Delhi.”
The AAP had made Jan Lokpal an election issue and promised to pass the bill to this effect in 15 days of assuming power. The AAP government has already made announcements on water and power issues as per the promises made in their poll manifesto.
The ‘Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill’ as promised in AAP manifesto, is to be modeled on the lines of the Jan Lokpal Bill that is being demanded since 2011. This bill seeks to repeal the existing Lokayukta in Delhi, which the party calls “toothless and ineffective”.
AAP’s Delhi Jan Lokpal will have the power to investigate all public officials, including the chief minister, ministers and all MLAs, of Delhi government. Unlike existing provision of the law, those found guilty of corruption would not just be removed from position and sentenced to prison but their property will also be confiscated.
Again, instead of allowing cases to drag on for years, the Delhi Jan Lokpal promises time-bound investigation in corruption cases with charges of corruption against ministers, MLAs and secretaries to be completed within 6 months to a year.
{{/usCountry}}Again, instead of allowing cases to drag on for years, the Delhi Jan Lokpal promises time-bound investigation in corruption cases with charges of corruption against ministers, MLAs and secretaries to be completed within 6 months to a year.
{{/usCountry}}Also, the Delhi Jan Lokpal will have power to initiate investigation and prosecution against those charged with corruption.
“We have brought in a new kind of politics, the politics of honesty. I am hopeful this will not just cleanse the politics in Delhi but one day, help cleanse the entire country,” Kejriwal said, declining to put a time frame.
Kejriwal also asserted, “We will not spare anybody, neither Congress nor BJP. With all the energy and resources at my command, corruption in civic bodies, in the Delhi government of previous term or our tenure, no corrupt person will be spared.”