Faisal Fareed
Daijiworld Media Network
Lucknow, Aug 20: With Anna Hazare's stir for implementation of Jan Lokpal bill gripping the nation the Samajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav advocated amendments in the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Yadav while interacting with newsmen on Saturday claimed that his party is already fighting over corruption issue however a review of Jan Lokpal Bill presented by Anna's team is required. "I am happy that Anna has raised the corruption isse. We were the first to support him and also opposed his arresting. However we cannot follow the line as demanded by Anna over Jan Lokpal Bill," said Mulayam. He also asked his party's national vice-president and Rajya Sabha MP Mohan Singh to study the finer points of Jan Lokpal Bill.
On his party, Mohan Singh claimed that certain changes are mandatory in both the Lokpal Bill presented by government and the Jan Lokpal Bill by Anna. "In Anna's Jan Lokpal Bill we tow serious objections. We do not favour inclusion of judiciary and Prime Minister under the purview of Jan Lokpal. If it is done a n amendment in the constitution will be required. It will also hamper the democratic setup of the country and thus cannot be allowed in any circumstances," he said.
Regarding the Lokpal Bill of the government, Mohan Singh claimed that changes as making the lower rung officials also accountable to Lokpal besides monitoring of elected representatives other than parliament is also necessary. "Presently there is a provision of monitoring officials upto the level of joint secretary while there is no provision for monitoring elected representatives other than MPs. They should also be included under the purview of Lokpal," said Mohan Singh. He also stated that these changes will be presented by them in the parliament.