By IANS,
New Delhi: Civil society activists Friday met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L.K. Advani and will soon present their version of the proposed Lokpal bill to the party, an India Against Corruption spokesperson said.
Representing the civil society were Lokpal bill drafting committee member Arvind Kejriwal, former top cop Kiran Bedi and activist Manish Sisodia.
“We had a brief meeting with Mr. Advani. Since both Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley (leaders of opposition in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha) were out of town, it was decided that a presentation of the Lokpal bill will be made later,” the spokesperson told IANS.
A series of meetings of the Lokpal bill drafting committee – comprising five civil society representatives and an equal number of union ministers – ended in a stalemate earlier this week with each side presenting its version of the anti-graft measure. The government has said it would present the bill in the monsoon session of parliament beginning August 1.
Gandhian Anna Hazare, whose fast-unto-death here in April to demand a strong Lokpal bill had prompted the government to set up the drafting committee, says he will again go on a fast on the same issue August 16.