Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar o Friday expressed his inability to give his opinion on the proposed Lokpal Bill as he claimed that the Centre had not
prepared any draft.
"After reading Union Finance Minister, Pranab
Mukherjee`s letter it is explicit that the Centre has not yet
prepared the final draft of the proposed Lokpal bill. At this
stage any comment from my end will be premature and not in
consonance with the spirit of the Constitution," Kumar told
reporters here.
The stage to seek views of the states would arrive
only when the draft bill was ready and it would be
inappropriate to express any opinion without looking into the
contents of the final draft, he said.
"I was conveyed by the Resident Commissioner of Bihar
in New Delhi that he had received Mukherjee`s letter without
any number and date on June 1, 2011," Kumar said.
Opposing the questionnaire seeking his response in a
forma, he said "It is rather surprising that on a such vital
issue responses of the chief ministers and other stake
holders are being sought in such a casual and hurried
manner."
He also said it was the responsibility of the Centre
to finalise the draft of the bill to be presented before
Parliament and different political parties have their
representatives there to debate the issue.
PTI
