By IANS,
New Delhi: The Congress core committee Saturday suggested that the government call an all-party meeting to seek views on the Lokpal Bill, party sources said.
The meeting, presided by party chief Sonia Gandhi, felt that such a meeting would help arrive at a consensus on the ticklish issues and defuse the pressure on the government and the party, the sources added.
This was the second meeting of the powerful Congress committee in two days. Besides Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, key ministers including Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P. Chidambaram attended the meeting.
The last meeting of the joint committee drafting the Lokpal Bill, held June 15, saw the differences between the five ministerial members and the five civil society members, who include social activist Anna Hazara and former law minister Shanti Bhushan, widening.
A major bone of contention is whether the prime minister should be brought under the purview of the anti-graft Lokpal bill, which the civil society is demanding and the government has opposed.
The core committee of the Congress also discussed the Telangana statehood demand – with even Congress legislators from the region in Andhra Pradesh demanding the government’s urgent intervention, party sources said.