New Delhi: A day after announcing that Lokpal
will have Constitutional status, Law Minister Salman Khurshid
on Wednesday allayed fears that the move will delay passage of the
bill.
"It will not be. Let us not do everything on the basis of
mistrust. Let us do it on the basis of trust...why should
people have any reason to believe that if we want to give it
higher status, it will be done in order to delay it," Khurshid
said here.
He was responding to questions on whether making Lokpal a
constitutional body will delay its passage in Parliament.
The minister said the government was committed to early
passage of the Bill.
"Our commitment is next session (winter session) of
Parliament. Let us wait for the next session of Parliament.
That`s our commitment, the Prime Minister`s commitment.
"We are working on a very strong Lokpal Bill. A Lokpal
Bill that will come with a Constitutional amendment. That
amendment will give the Lokpal the status of a Constitutional
authority," he had said last night.
The Lokpal will be "more powerful than the Election
Commission" and "will have far greater powers". Its profile
and stature will be "much higher", Khurshid had said.
PTI
