 "Lok Sabha votes to amend Lokpal law")
The Lok Sabha passed an amendment to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act of 2013, deleting the requirement for public servants and non-government bodies getting state funds from filing their asset declarations by July 31.
The amendment also does away with the provision that the spouse and dependent children of such public servants also file their asset declarations, as also that these be put in the public domain.
Directors and officials of non-profit organisations would continue to come under the ambit of the law but their spouses and dependents would be removed, under the amendment. It also does away with the current provision for an annual disclosure of assets. The form and manner of disclosures required from government officials or top officials of non-government bodies would be decided later through rules, to be applied retrospectively.
The Bill now goes to the Rajya Sabha. The minister of state for personnel, Jitender Singh, while moving the Bill to amend Section 44 of the Act, said a parliamentary standing committee to look at the amendments had been requested to give their report “expeditiously”. The amendment passed without dissent, within minutes of it having been introduced a little after the Zero Hour. The Bill wasn’t listed in the Lok Sabha’s list of business for Wednesday or approved by the Cabinet. It was added to the Lok Sabha’s order paper later.
The Prime Minister invoked section 12 of the Government’s Transaction of Business Rules, that empower the PM to “permit or condone a departure” from the rules. The cabinet approval is to be taken post facto. While all other parties welcomed the move, Communist Party of India (Marxist) member Mohammed Salim questioned the hurry and accused the government of bringing in the Bill surreptitiously. “What has become of the assurance ‘na khaoonga, na khane doonga (neither will I indulge in corruption, nor allow others)?” he asked.
He said the impression will go out that the MPs are passing the amendment to save their skins.
Government strategists said all political parties were consulted before the Bill was introduced and all agreed that it should be passed forthwith, given the “urgency” of the situation. Minister of state for parliamentary affairs S S Ahluwalia spoke with the Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, Biju Janata Dal’s Bhartruhari Mahtab and Trinamool’s Saugata Roy, among others, to build a consensus. Government strategists claimed Salim wasn’t present in the House at the time and could not be spoken to.
The Minister said the Act was brought into force in January 2014, but a need was felt to modify some of the provisions. He said the proposed amendments were referred to a standing committee in December 2014, which gave its report in December 2015. Later, stakeholders flagged a couple of issues, especially the one which required all public servants to declare their assets, including that of their spouse and dependent children by April. This deadline was extended until end-July 2016.
A similar issue was flagged by NGOs needing to declare their assets. Several of these NGOs, Singh said, have foreign sources of funding and run educational institutions. He said MPs met the PM on July 25 with the request to delete these provisions and the PM assured the government would look into the matter.
Singh said that the “impasse” relating to amending of section 44 needed to be immediately overcome for the sake of NGOs, public servants and political functionaries. "Till the present impasse is overcome, the deadline with regard to government servants can be deferred," Singh said as he moved amendments to the Act.
The amendment also does away with the provision that the spouse and dependent children of such public servants also file their asset declarations, as also that these be put in the public domain.
Directors and officials of non-profit organisations would continue to come under the ambit of the law but their spouses and dependents would be removed, under the amendment. It also does away with the current provision for an annual disclosure of assets. The form and manner of disclosures required from government officials or top officials of non-government bodies would be decided later through rules, to be applied retrospectively.
The Bill now goes to the Rajya Sabha. The minister of state for personnel, Jitender Singh, while moving the Bill to amend Section 44 of the Act, said a parliamentary standing committee to look at the amendments had been requested to give their report “expeditiously”. The amendment passed without dissent, within minutes of it having been introduced a little after the Zero Hour. The Bill wasn’t listed in the Lok Sabha’s list of business for Wednesday or approved by the Cabinet. It was added to the Lok Sabha’s order paper later.
The Prime Minister invoked section 12 of the Government’s Transaction of Business Rules, that empower the PM to “permit or condone a departure” from the rules. The cabinet approval is to be taken post facto. While all other parties welcomed the move, Communist Party of India (Marxist) member Mohammed Salim questioned the hurry and accused the government of bringing in the Bill surreptitiously. “What has become of the assurance ‘na khaoonga, na khane doonga (neither will I indulge in corruption, nor allow others)?” he asked.
He said the impression will go out that the MPs are passing the amendment to save their skins.
Government strategists said all political parties were consulted before the Bill was introduced and all agreed that it should be passed forthwith, given the “urgency” of the situation. Minister of state for parliamentary affairs S S Ahluwalia spoke with the Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, Biju Janata Dal’s Bhartruhari Mahtab and Trinamool’s Saugata Roy, among others, to build a consensus. Government strategists claimed Salim wasn’t present in the House at the time and could not be spoken to.
The Minister said the Act was brought into force in January 2014, but a need was felt to modify some of the provisions. He said the proposed amendments were referred to a standing committee in December 2014, which gave its report in December 2015. Later, stakeholders flagged a couple of issues, especially the one which required all public servants to declare their assets, including that of their spouse and dependent children by April. This deadline was extended until end-July 2016.
A similar issue was flagged by NGOs needing to declare their assets. Several of these NGOs, Singh said, have foreign sources of funding and run educational institutions. He said MPs met the PM on July 25 with the request to delete these provisions and the PM assured the government would look into the matter.
Singh said that the “impasse” relating to amending of section 44 needed to be immediately overcome for the sake of NGOs, public servants and political functionaries. "Till the present impasse is overcome, the deadline with regard to government servants can be deferred," Singh said as he moved amendments to the Act.