Left parties set for agitation for effective LokPal

New Delhi, Jun 21: With the Union government in an all-out effort to come into a consensus on the proposed LokPal Bill with the civil society, it is the turn of the Left parties to up the ante on the Union government. The Left parties intend to start a nationwide agitation to highlight the various cases of corruption that have emerged during the UPA regime. They also want to use the platform to demand for the implementation of an effective LokPal Bill.

Even as the all-party meeting is scheduled to be held on the proposed LokPal Bill in July, the Left parties have made their stand clear and said that they support the 'Prime Minister and the judiciary' to fall under the purview of the LokPal Bill.

In an effort to project the matter as a top priority in the Left agenda, the decision on the agitation was made in a meeting on Monday that was attended by representatives from CPI(M), CPI, RSP and Forward. The plans include picketing of central government offices throughout the country, hold demonstrations, dharnas and rallies between July 15-21, before the monsoon session of Parliament. The facts were revealed in a joint statement by the four Left parties.

Along with the demand of an effective LokPal Bill, they also asked for the establishment of a National Judicial Commission for enquiry into corruption probes into people within the judiciary. They also sought to look into the "rampant corruption fostered by the big business-politician-bureaucrat nexus". Also in their agenda is the money power in elections with steps to be taken for bringing back the black money both within and outside the country.

CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan stated in a press conference, “We are for jurisdiction of the Lokpal on the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister's Office, because excluding him on any ground would mean exclusion of at least one-third of the entire government."

OneIndia News