New Delhi: The government is committed to presenting strong and effective Lokpal Bill in the Parliament, Information & Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni said on Thursday.
"The bill will be presented in Parliament once the bill is ready. Our Prime Minister and UPA Chairperson have reiterated the commitment for a strong and effective Lokpal Bill. I do not want to comment on rumours," she said.
Earlier, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal also said that the Government will have an 'open mind' and will give a 'very serious thought' to the report of the Standing Committee going into the bill.
"It is a priority bill for the government. We are determined to pass it," he said when asked whether the Lokpal Bill will be passed in the Winter Session beginning November 22.
Addressing a press conference ahead of the session, the minister on Wednesday said that he expected that the Standing Committee headed by Abhishek Singhvi to submit its report by month-end even though the time limit was till December 7.
"Government stands totally committed to root out corruption. But it cannot be done through one instrument or one law and it requires a slew of measures," Bansal told reporters.
The forthcoming session concludes on December 21 and Anna Hazare and his team, who have been agitating on the Lokpal issue, are demanding that the bill be passed in this session.
Bansal insisted that if corruption has to be combated, then delivery of services by government departments needed to be on time.
"All this cannot be done through a comprehensive bill as it will not serve any purpose and will only create huge bureaucracies," he said.
Bansal said that if the Committee agreed, there could be a separate bill for giving constitutional status to the Lokpal, a demand made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. He said that the Committee has an 'even' balance as regards representatives of the ruling side and the opposition.
(With additional inputs from PTI)
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