Congress boycotts Lokpal meeting, calls the procedure 'political pretence'

Congress boycotts the selection committee meeting for appointing the anti-graft ombudsman Lokpal Bill, calls the entire produce 'political pretence' Congress was invited as a 'Special Invitee' to attend the special committee meeting in the Lok Sabha scheduled on March 1. In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge writes that the main Opposition party has been invited by the government as 'Special Invitee' just for the sake of formality. 'Constructive participation' is not possible under the garb of 'Special Invitee'. Congress questions the government's sincerity in fighting corruption. Bharatiya Janata Party Government has chosen to not appoint a Lokpal in last four years, Kharge mentions in the letter. Under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, ombudsmen are to be appointed at the Centre and in states for inquiring into allegations of corruption against public functionaries. The Lokpal Bill was passed by Parliament in 2013, but the appointment of the anti-corruption ombudsman is stuck in procedural wranglings for the last four years. Calling the meeting as mere procedure to follow Supreme Court's order, Kharge asks the ruling party to bring an ordinance to amend the Lokpal Bill and present it in Lok abha before March, 2018