New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS): The Congress party Wednesday said the government was pushing for constitutional status for the Lokpal or ombudsman - a line welcomed by Team Anna which has been campaigning for a strong anti-graft bill.
"We are inspired by what Rahul Gandhi said about Lokpal. We want to pursue that," Law Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters. "But beyond what I have said, I am not going into a detailed discussion on the issue because the parliamentary standing committee is handling it."
Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi told IANS: "The law minister's statement is in the light of what Rahul Gandhi had said earlier. A constitutional Lokpal would be more independent and powerful than what Anna Hazare has demanded."
Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had suggested a constitutional Lokpal on the lines of the Election Commission of India during the monsoon session of parliament.
Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office V. Narayanasamy also said Wednesday: "A constitutional Lokpal is one of the options before the government."
Members of Team Anna welcomed the move on a constitutional Lokpal but said that should not prevent it from being made a statutory body.
"We have been saying that it will be great if Lokpal could be made into a constitutional authority. But making it into a constitutional authority should not prevent it from it being made a statutory body," Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan told reporters.
The parliamentary standing committee on law and justice headed by Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi is looking into the various drafts of the Lokpal bill, including the Jan Lokpal of civil society activists led by Hazare.
The panel is expected to submit its recommendations to parliament by winter session slated to begin mid-November.
The issue has come in focus with Hazare asking voters in Hisar parliamentary bypoll in Haryana Thursday to defeat the Congress as it was delaying the Lokpal legislation.
But Alvi said: "I don't understand the reasons for his (Anna's) anxiety. He knows the parliamentary procedure and it takes time."