Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The Nitish Kumar government’s move to strengthen the Lokayukta in the state received a setback on Wednesday with Team Anna virtually rejecting the proposal as damp squib.
Arvind Kejriwal, a key member of the Team Anna, said the new Lokayukta Bill which the Bihar government is planning to introduce in the state Assembly is no better than the Central government’s old Lokpal Bill, which the anti-corruption group has already trashed.
Kejriwal said their team is opposed to Nitish government’s bill.
The development comes just days after Team Anna had lauded the Lokayukta Bill passed by the Assembly of Uttarakhand, which is ruled by the BJP.
It should be noted that the government in Bihar is led by the JD(U)-BJP alliance.
According to a draft cleared by the Bihar Cabinet, the Lokayukta in the state will be a three-member body led by a chairperson. The chief minister’s office will come under the ambit of the Lokayukta, as also its own investigation and prosecution wings.
Reports said the Nitish Cabinet had also decided to include many provisions of the Jan Lokpal Bill, prepared by Team Anna.
Since Bihar already has Lokayukta, the new law would require an amendment to the existing Bihar Lokayukta Act, 1973.
