Revised Lokpal Bill to be tabled in Parl in couple of days

New Delhi, Dec 20:Bringing Prime Minister in the ambit of Lokpal with adequate safeguards and change in mode of appointment of CBI director could be among the provisions the government is looking to incorporate in the Lokpal Bill to be introduced in Parliament, possibly in the next couple of days.

These are among the 60 official amendments the government was tonight said to be giving final touches to in the bill that is expected to be brought to the Cabinet.

The government was also considering extending the current Winter Session, which concludes on December 22, from December 27 to 29, after a five-day break for Christmas.

A meeting of the Cabinet, which was to take place on Dec 18, was put off till Dec 19 at least as the draft was not ready, sources said.

A senior minister said that decisions on all issues have been taken and "some faults" were being removed.

The sources said the government is unlikely to meet Team Anna's demand for bringing CBI entirely under Lokpal but is ready to carve out from it an independent prosecution wing.

There is also a proposal for changing the selection procedure for the CBI chief by including Leaders of Opposition in both the Houses in the selection committee, they said. A senior minister said the government felt that an institution cannot be killed to set up another institution.

A group of senior ministers completed the exercise of "cleaning up" the draft of the bill amid Anna Hazare's looming threat of going on hunger strike from December 27 if the anti-graft legislation was not passed by then.

PTI