Daijiworld Media Network

New Delhi, Jun 21: Backtracking on its partial agreement to bring the Prime Minister under the ambit of the Lokpal, the government on Tuesday June 21 stated in its final draft of the Bill that the PM would be completely kept out of its purview.

CNN-IBN reported that the government's version of the Lokpal Bill draft proposed the inclusion of all ministers under the Lokpal ambit, except the PM.

The draft also mentions that the PM, the leader of the opposition, and the Lok Sabha speaker should be in the Lokpal selection committee.

It also rejected civil society's demand that all bureacrats should be open to investigation, stating that officers below the rank of superintendent of police would not be under investigation. However, NGOs will be brought under its ambit, it stated.

The civil society expressed its unhappiness over the government draft, and said that it did not serve the purpose of combatting corruption in an open, independent manner.