What Arun Jaitley said in Parliament today
December 17, 2013 14:25
A recap of what Arun Jaitley said in Parliament today on the Lokpal Bill.
-- We must strive to bring a viable and credible Lokpal Bill. There is scope for improvement in this law.
-- The political atmosphere is different today. I believe that the government has gained some insight on the matter between December 29, 2011 and today because of the changed political atmosphere.
-- We want to pass the Lokpal Bill. We need to remove all its faults and introduce a bill that is credible and functional.
-- We felt that if the government had the upper hand in appointing the Lokpal, then the office can be misused.
-- In the government's bill, the government had the ability to start proceedings against a Lokpal if they wanted to. That has been amended, and now, it's like the impeachment process - MPs were empowered. The jurisdiction of the Lokpal predominantly should be where government revenue is involved.
-- We must strive to bring a viable and credible Lokpal Bill. There is scope for improvement in this law.
-- The political atmosphere is different today. I believe that the government has gained some insight on the matter between December 29, 2011 and today because of the changed political atmosphere.
-- We want to pass the Lokpal Bill. We need to remove all its faults and introduce a bill that is credible and functional.
-- We felt that if the government had the upper hand in appointing the Lokpal, then the office can be misused.
-- In the government's bill, the government had the ability to start proceedings against a Lokpal if they wanted to. That has been amended, and now, it's like the impeachment process - MPs were empowered. The jurisdiction of the Lokpal predominantly should be where government revenue is involved.