By IANS,
New Delhi : Government is trying to build a consensus on the Lokpal Bill and will discuss the issue with some key political parties during the weekend, a senior minister said Friday.
Janata Dal-United (JD-U), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP) and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are among the parties with whom government representatives will hold meetings over the weekend, the minister said, as the government is contemplating bringing the bill in the Rajya Sabha in this session itself.
The budget session comes to an end May 22.
Even as a special sitting is scheduled Sunday to mark 60 years of the Lok Sabha, the evening will be used for the meetings, the minister told IANS.
Senior ministers have already met Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley and Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Sitaram Yechury Thursday.
Sources say the clause on formulation of lokayuktas has been dropped from the bill. Ally Trinamool Congress, which was earlier against the bill, has indicated its support after this development.
However, some senior parliamentarians have doubts if the government will be able to pass the bill in present session in view of the limited time in hand.
“First they will build consensus, then the bill will have to be passed in Rajya Sabha, after that it will go back to Lok Sabha… let’s see if it can be done in this session,” a senior member said.
The Lokpal Bill was passed by the Lok Sabha during the extended winter session last year. However, a constitutional amendment bill accompanying this bill was defeated. In the Rajya Sabha, the bill was taken up on the last day of the session, but could not be passed.