Kolkata: Hardening its stand on the Lokpal
Bill, UPA ally Trinamool Congress on Sunday ruled out any
compromise on the Lokayukta provision and said the government
should have faced voting in the Rajya Sabha.
"Trinamool Congress is not going to compromise on the
federal structure of the Constitution and amendments put
forward by the party have to be accepted," Trinamool Congress
general secretary and MP Mukul Roy said.
He was reacting to yesterday's statement by Home Minister
P Chidambaram that Trinamool's demand for total deletion of
the Lokayukta provision might not be easy to meet and that the
government might accept one or two of its amendments.
Roy said the manner in which the Rajya Sabha was adjourned
sine die without passing the Lokpal Bill did not augur well
for democracy.
"The government should have faced the voting," he felt.
Roy claimed that MPs from Mamata Banerjee's party had
raised objections on the Lokayuta provision of the Lokpal Bill
because there was an understanding with the government that
Trinamool Congress' suggestions would be taken care of before
the bill was moved in the Rajya Sabha.
"This assurance was not kept. Mamata's voice has found an
echo in the opinions expressed by other chief ministers of the
country," he said.
Maintaining that Lokpal was not an isolated issue, Roy
felt it was not proper to concentrate power in the Centre's
hands and the state's rights should be "recognised". He noted
that the Central List, Concurrent List and the State List have
clearly defined subjects and there were no grey areas.
Rajya Sabha member Derek O' Brien said the party's stand
on Lokpal was consistent and clear and it had become a
"national stand".
Trinamool Congress and parties like BJP and Left parties
had moved amendments for deletion of Part III of the Bill
related to appointment of Lokayukta in states.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, January 01, 2012, 22:16