Lokpal to cover PM's office

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said his government had "mandated" the setting up of an administrative reforms commission to prepare a blueprint for revamping the public administration and asserted that there was a broad agreement to bring the office of the Prime Minister under the ambit of the Lokpal.

"This is one of the crucial steps we have taken as part of the gamut of measures to reform administration," the Prime Minister said addressing 8th All-India Conference of Lokayuktas here today.

Stating that absence of the Lokpal at the Centre was affecting the working of lokayuktas at the state-level, Singh called for "urgently" enacting a Bill in this regard. He the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has got the mandate on the common minimum programme to enact the Lokpal Bill.

"There is a broad agreement that public functionaries directly or indirectly elected by and responsible to the public such as MPs and ministers, including the Prime Minister, should be brought within the purview of the legislation," he said.

Stating that lokayukta was a product of the legislative process, he said the legislatures should ensure that recommendations of the lokayuktas did not "gather dust". On corruption in public life, he said along with the liberalisation of the economy, "we have to liberalise our minds, our outlook and attitude."

Such totality of liberalisation needed liberalisation of procedures and functions of our administrative structure, he said.

"This is one of the steps we have taken as part of the measures to reform administration. It is with this in view the national common minimum programme has mandated the setting up of an administrative reforms commission to prepare a blueprint for revamping the public administrative system," he said.

The Prime Minister said we must build a national movement and public opinion for hastening the process of ensuring probity in public life. "This conference is a step in that direction," he said.

He said the UPA government was committed to give a stable, honest, transparent and efficient government and to implement the freedom of the Information Act.

The government would accelerate measures to improve the quality of public service through the introduction of citizens charters, facilitation counters in ministries and departments and simplification of rules and procedures, he said.

Recalling that successive lokayukta conferences had sought constitutional status to these institutions on the line of the Election Commission and the Comptroller of Auditor-General (Cag), he said before granting such status there was a need to assess the performance of these institutions.

He said the selection process of lokayuktas should be made sufficiently robust and impartial to inspire confidence among people.

"Lokayuktas also need to evolve the procedures for carrying on business, which should be systematic, speedy and effective. This will ensure that citizens not only get justice but also see justice being done in a reasonable time frame," he said.