The Union Cabinet has approved the Draft Lok Pal Bill to be introduced in Monsoon session of Parliament. Briefing the media, after a meeting of the Cabinet, the Information and Broadcasting Minister, Mrs. Ambika Soni said that the Lok Pal will constitute of a Chairperson and eight members, half of them will be judicial members. The Prime Minister will not come under the purview of the Lok Pal Bill but the former Prime Ministers have been brought under its ambit. In reply to a question, the Minister of State in the PMO, Mr. V. Narayana Swamy said that the present Prime Minister will be liable to the Lok Pal after demitting office and a gap of seven years from the date of quitting the office. Elaborating on the Bill, Mrs. Soni said, the Bill was introduced in 2005 during the UPA-1 regime and is part of the Common Minimum Programme. Mrs. Soni informed that the Cabinet has also approved Social Security Fund for workers in unorganized sectors. She said, an initial corpus of one thousand crore rupees will be ear-marked for the benefit of workers in the unorganized sectors like rickshaw pullers, weavers and toddy tapers. The Minister said the move will facilitate formulation of social security schemes for these workers.
News On AIR | July 28, 2011 2:05 PM
Cabinet approves draft Lokpal Bill