New Delhi: The government was not under any pressure to bring the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said on Wednesday.
"The government is not under anybody's pressure on the Lokpal issue," Jaiswal told reporters outside Parliament.
"It is the (Congress-led) UPA that has got the mandate from the people to run the government and we are performing our duty… no one can dictate terms to the government," Jaiswal said.
A fresh version of Lokpal Bill was approved by the Union Cabinet on Tuesday after continuous deliberations over the past one week, bringing amendments in the earlier version which was tabled in Lok Sabha in August.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid had on Monday said that officials had been up for three consecutive nights to finalise the Bill.
According to government sources, the Bill is likely to be tabled in Lok Sabha on Thursday.
Anna Hazare and his team, which has been agitating for the legislation, has rejected the government version of the Bill.
Hazare has been holding rallies demanding swift passage of a Lokpal Bill in tune with the activist's version of the Jan Lokpal Bill.
IANS
First Published: Wednesday, December 21, 2011, 13:39