The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) backed the lokpal legislation but took strong exception to the Government’s failure in intimating it for the all-party meeting called by Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari on Monday. It said it sent a wrong message among the people that the BSP along with the Samajwadi Party (SP) was boycotting the Bill.
Making his party’s unhappiness evident, BSP leader Satish Mishra said the BSP had all along supported the statute and asked the Government to ensure adequate reservation and representation of SC/ST communities in it. He demanded this provision even as the BJP maintained that providing reservations on religious basis is against Constitutional provisions.
Participating in the debate, Mishra said the Government’s lapse in not inviting his party for parleys sent a very wrong message among the masses. “I will like to ask Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath as to why our party was not invited.” Mishra said he came to know about the meeting only through media reports which said the SP and the BSP had boycotted the meeting. Nath replied that the information about the meeting reached late even to him as well as Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) due to delay by the Rajya Sabha Secretariat.
On the issue of reservation for SC/ST, Mishra said their representation in higher judiciary was negligible and the government must take steps to give a fair deal to persons from these communities in the larger interest of the deprived sections of society. Supporting the Bill, Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy, however, sought to know the rationale behind keeping out the elected representatives from becoming the Chairman or members of lokpal. “Such discrimination is a stigma on the elected representatives,” he said, demanding amendment to the clause.
He also sought to know why only retired Chief Justice of India or former Supreme Court judges should head the lokpal as their integrity has also come under criticism in recent times. He opposed the suggestion that states should set up lokayukta on the lokpal model within a year. V Maitreyan (AIADMK) suggested that the Prime Minister as well as chief ministers should be kept out of purview of lokpal. He said if his Government in Tamil Nadu considered passing the legislation for establishment of lokayukta, then the Chief Minister would be kept out of its purview.
The DMK leader KP Ramalingam said he was also on the same page with CPI-M on inclusion of religious institutions under the Bill’s ambit, but cautioned that proper check should be in place so that provisions were not misused. Baishnab Parida (BJD) hailed the Bill saying, “It would be a milestone in the institutional mechanism to fight corruption.” However, Anil Desai (Shiv Sena) opposed it and said, “Creating an extra-constitutional body lokpal amounts to blatant attempt to undermine our Constitution.”
Ravi Shankar Prasad (BJP) demanded that the Whistle-blower Bill also be brought in the House as soon as possible for consideration and passage. Yogendra P Trivedi (NCP), Y S Chowdary(TDP), M S Gill (Congress), MP Achutan (CPI), Birendra Prasad Baishya (AGP), Naresh Gujral (SAD), Ram Kripal Yadav (RJD), Ram Vilas Paswan (lJP) and Amar Singh (Independent) also backed the Bill. All the speakers lauded the role played by Select Committee chairman Satyavrat Chaturvedi in drafting the Bill.