The arch rivals of the West Bengal chief minister and Trinamul supremo, Ms Mamata Banerjee, the marxists came out in support of her amendments on Lokpal Bill concerning the constitution of Lokyauktas in states. The CPI(M) Rajya Sabha member Sitaram Yechury also took a dig at the government, saying “kahin pe nigahe, kahin pe nishana”, while accusing it of not being able to bring a strong Bill in Parliament.

Mr Yechury asked the government to amend the Lokpal Bill in a way that the state legislatures can constitute their respective Lokayuktas. The marxist leader, while conceding that the Parliment had passed a resolution known as sense of the House which had included constitution of Loakyuktas in states, sought for striking a balance by saying that Lokpal bill can specify a timeframe for the purpose and the state legislatures can enact such a law.
“This will ensure that the spirit of the Constitution is not violated, while at the same time we can also act on the commitment given to the people,” added Mr Yechury. He, however, took a dig at the Trinamul by asking why the party did not take a stand when the Lokpal Bill came up for consideration of the Cabinet. “Next time they (TMC) should decide where they want to stand when the matter comes to Cabinet,” quipped Mr Yechury. He called upon the government to accept four demands moved by his party, which included resp-ecting federal structure, independence of investigative agency, broader appointment set up for Lokpal and including corporates and foreign funded NGOs within the ambit of the anti-graft ombudsman.