Present a strong Lokpal Bill: Team Anna to Government

He said it was a rare opportunity for UPA government to change the history of India and if they present a strong Lokpal Bill,the whole country would be indebted to them.

“We sincerely appeal to the Union Cabinet to present a strong Lokpal Bill in Parliament,” he said in a statement.

Contending that government’s version of Lokpal Bill “falls far short” of the expectations of the people,he said it was “too weak and ineffective. It has a very narrow jurisdiction.”

Activist Arvind Kejriwal said there was “nothing for a common man in the present version of government’s Lokpal Bill. Common man’s corruption has been completely left out of Lokpal Bill.”

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said,”the government claims that it first wants to tackle high-level corruption.

“However,none of the large scams of recent times like the Adarsh Housing scam,the Commonwealth Games scam,the Reddy brothers scam,mining scam,Jharkhand Mukti Morcha scam,Cash for vote scam,fodder scam,Taj corridor scam — none of these scams are covered by government’s Lokpal. So,what is covered under Government’s Lokpal?”

The Lokpal Bill will be brought to the Cabinet in its next meeting.

Kejriwal argued if the government presents a Bill with faulty structures,then even the Standing Committee will not be able to do much.

“Parliament and the Standing Committee have their limitations. The Standing Committee may negate a law or it may suggest some amendments,but the standing committee does not have the jurisdiction to rewrite a law. It cannot completely replace a law. It cannot change the basic structure of a law,” said Kejriwal.