Lokpal Bill to come up on Friday in Rajya Sabha; Samajwadi Party to oppose it

New Delhi: The Lokpal Bill will come up in Rajya Sabha on Friday and is a 'priority' for the government, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said on Thursday.

AAP reaches out to Hazare, vows to fight for Jan Lokpal

"Our priority is Lokpal Bill. The Lokpal Bill has to be taken up in Rajya Sabha, and then it will come up in Lok Sabha," he said, adding the government will list the measure in the Rajya Sabha on Friday. He also dismissed suggestions that there was any plan to curtail the Winter session of Parliament.

Asked about reports that Government is considering adjourning Parliament sine die by Friday, he said, "There is no plan at the moment to curtail the session. We have allocated time for other businesses and we have a list of priorities".

No plan to curtail Parliament session: Kamal Nath

He said the government also has to secure the passage of the supplementary demands for grants of the Finance and Railway ministries. The Winter session, which started on December 5, is scheduled to end on December 20.

Government has assured Anna Hazare that the bill will be taken up in the ongoing Parliament session, but the anti-graft crusader has started an indefinite hunger strike to press for its early passage that entered third day on Thursday.

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabh Sushma Swaraj accused the government of trying to cut short the session, thereby stalling the anti-graft bill and said her party is keen that it is taken up without delay.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party made it clear that it will oppose the Bill in the Rajya Sabha while the JD(U) and NCP supported its early passage.

There is no question of supporting it, SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said outside Parliament.

Asked repeatedly why his party is opposing it, Yadav said, "This is hypothetical question. First let it come and then we will tell you." His colleague Naresh Agarwal, however, said "government has lost the trust of the people so it should not bring any bill in the House".

Supporting the measure, JD(U) leader K.C. Tyagi said the party is in favour of setting up Lokpal.

"Anna has written to Nitish Kumar on Lokpal. We are in favour of an effective, transparent Lokpal. We will not oppose it but we will definitely give suggestion."

NCP leader D.P. Tripathy said, "We are for passing the Lokpal in the current session. Once it is passed in the Rajya Sabha then it will go to the Lok Sabha."

Asked how it will be possible since the session is going to end soon, he said, "The session is scheduled to continue till December 20 and there is no proposal yet to adjourn it before that."

The Trinamool Congress said that it fully supported the Lokpal Bill, but demanded full freedom for state governments to set up Lokayuktas.

"Trinamool Congress fully supports the Lokpal Bill ... for Lokayuktas, the state governments must have the full freedom to set up and run them," TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien told PTI here.

Next - Govt should get Lokpal bill passed with amendments, says BJP

Govt should get Lokpal bill passed with amendments: BJP

New Delhi: Expressing full support to the Lokpal issue, BJP on Thursday dared the government to bring the bill with amendments unanimously adopted by the Rajya Sabha Select Committee and get it passed in the ongoing winter session of Parliament.

In a press conference in Parliament House, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj and her Rajya Sabha counterpart Arun Jaitley alleged that the government does not want to pass important bills like the one on Lokpal and formation of Telangana.

BJP said just as the government got the supplementary demands for grants (general) and (Railways) passed in the din, it should get the Lokpal Bill passed too as it has been debated for last 46 years and also cleared by the RS Select Committee.

"The Lokpal Bill was sent to a Select Committee of Rajya Sabha. The Committee, which was headed by a Congress member, Satyavrat Chaturvedi, held several sittings and all political parties were privy to it. There were 13 unanimous recommendations adopted by the Committee.

"Government should bring the bill with these amendments and BJP will support it along with the UPA. The Rajya Sabha can pass it tomorrow and it can be passed by the Lok Sabha on Monday," Jaitley said.

Opposition pressure on the Lokpal Bill comes against the backdrop of the ongoing fast by Anna Hazare to press for passage of the legislation and the impressive performance of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Delhi elections. The Lokpal movement had led to the formation of AAP.

Alleging that the 'bonafides' of the government on this issue are suspect, BJP said the Select Committee had submitted its report on December 23, 2012 but the Manmohan Singh dispensation had still not brought the Lokpal Bill. The main Opposition also emphasised that the Select Committee report is a property of the Upper House and the Union Cabinet does not have any right to amend it.

Jaitley said only the Rajya Sabha has the right to make amendments to the Lokpal Bill and then send it to Lok Sabha for discussion and passage. BJP announced that the government should drop the two amendments on which there is disagreement.

Government is opposed to the amendment which states that the Lokpal should be consulted before a CBI officer probing a case is transferred. While the Opposition maintains this will check undue interference of the government, the government insists it has the right to post and transfer officials.

The other amendment on which there is no agreement between the government and Opposition is on search and seizure of an official's property.

Government maintains he should be show-caused first when a charge of disproportionate assets is made against him while the Opposition says it will take away the element of suddenness and surprise and alert the person. BJP charged that the government itself is responsible for disruptions in Parliament.

"Usually it is the Opposition which is blamed if there are disruptions in the House but in the last two sessions- monsoon and winter- the ruling side has been fully responsible for it. Congress, YSR Congress, TDP MPs are in the Well of the House as soon as it assembles. SP and BSP, outside allies of UPA, too disrupt the House," Swaraj said.

She said that Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath had called her to discuss the near-washout of the winter session.

"I told him that if the government cannot run the House then why does it call a session. The Opposition has been silent and is cooperating. The government wants to take advantage of the situation (disruptions) and run away... I said if you can pass supplementary demand for grants in the din then pass the Lokpal Bill too," she said.

She denied that her party is showing keenness on passing the Lokpal Bill keeping in mind the Lok Sabha polls and the rise of Aam Aadmi Party.