New Delhi:
As the government gears up to introduce the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill in Parliament next week, it's wooing in earnest political parties that have been reluctant beaus so far. So the cabinet, which meets on Monday, will consider a reservation quota for the new ombudsman agency.
The proposal - part of a note being prepared for the cabinet - suggests that 50% of the Lokpal's members should belong to Scheduled Castes and Tribes (SC/STs), and Other Backward Castes (OBCs). Opposition leaders like Mayawati and Lalu Prasad Yadav have been pushing for reservation among the nine members of the Lokpal, as well as in the selection committee that will appoint them. No constitutional body in India has a quota governing its members. Experts say introducing reservation in the Lokpal could be challenged in court.
The government wants to ensure that it brings as many parties on board as possible so that the Bill's journeys swiftly through parliament.
The note also mentions safeguards like if 100 MPS sign a petition against any Lokpal member, then the President will have to refer the complaint to the Supreme Court.
The proposal suggests that the PM, apart from the safeguards, can be referred for a preliminary inquiry or probe only after a sitting of the full members of the Lokpal and no less that 75% agree. The report will have to be sent to parliament and the proceedings will be in camera
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has threatened to go on a fast on December 27, followed by a "jail bharo" (court arrest) agitation on January 1, if the bill is not introduced in parliament before this session ends on December 22. What the government may do is introduce the bill next week, and then call a special session of parliament a few days later for the debate and vote needed to turn it into law.
(Read: Anna warns of protests outside MPs' houses)The BJP and the Left say that they support the need to pass the Bill urgently - not just because of Anna's deadline, but because they support the need to create an ombudsman agency that will be empowered to check corruption among government servants. The combined threat of an aggressive BJP and a mass movement by Anna has the government stepping on the gas.
Earlier this week, the PM chaired a meeting of all parties to gauge their stands on the major features of the Lokpal.
(Read) There is broad consensus among political parties about bringing the Prime Minister and lakhs of junior bureaucrats under the ambit of the Lokpal. Safeguards will protect the PM's office from frivolous complaints and prohibit the disclosure of details that could affect national security or foreign policy.
The big sticking point remains the relationship between the Lokpal and the premier investigating agency, the CBI. The Lokpal will use the CBI to investigate cases of corruption. But how much control it should have over the agency - and whether the CBI should report to the Lokpal on all matters - remains a matter of dispute.
(Read: At all-party meet on Lokpal Bill, no consensus on inclusion of CBI) The government will most likely suggest that the CBI's investigative autonomy be preserved. So the agency will report to the Lokpal only on the cases assigned to it by the ombudsman. The government is also likely to accept what the BJP has demanded: that the Director or head of the CBI must be appointed by a panel that includes the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition, and the Chairman of the Lokpal.