Lokpal row: Winter Session of Parliament can't be extended, says Narayanaswamy

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, V Narayanaswamy, on Sunday ruled out extending the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, as demanded by veteran social activist Anna Hazare for the passage of an effective Jan Lokpal Bill.

Reacting to Janata Dal-United (JD-U) chief Sharad Yadav's demands that the government should either extend the Winter Session of Parliament or call a special session to discuss the Lokpal Bill, Narayanaswamy said that Yadav should put forth his views at the all-party meet that is scheduled to be held on December 14.

"I will tell you, please leave Anna and his team; I am not here to answer their questions. Currently we are not in a position to extend the winter session of parliament. Anyway it is a decision that will be taken by the presidents of both Houses of Parliament after discussions with everyone including the government," said Narayanaswamy.

"I am not going to answer what one political leader (Sharad Yadav) is saying. As you know an all-party meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, he can give his opinion of extending this session there," he added.

Addressing a gathering at the Jantar Mantar here earlier in the day during Hazare's daylong protest fast, Sharad Yadav said: " Either the session should be extended or a special session should be called to discuss the Lokpal Bill."

Reiterating the government's commitment towards the passage of the Lokpal Bill in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament, Narayanaswamy stated that it was the Prime Minister's promise and ensured that a strong bill will be passed after detailed discussions from all quarters.

"From the Congress's and our leadership's side, our respected Prime minister said in front of the public that the Lokpal would be brought in this session of parliament. After the standing committee's report, we will present the bill in the parliament. After discussions with everyone and after the cabinet approves it we will decide how to take it further," he said.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal echoing similar sentiments said that it was not possible to extend the current Winter Session of Parliament as Christmas was around the corner.

"I don't think that this session of parliament will be extended as after 22nd as we are almost near Christmas. But I request the opposition parties and others to start work atleast in the next session of parliament. In the current session out of fourteen days only one and a half days, parliament has worked," said Bansal.

Hazare sat on a daylong fast at the Jantar Mantar here to protest against the proposals of Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Lokpal Bill.

Hazare, who is fighting for a strong anti-graft bill, has been demanding that the lower bureaucracy should be brought within the ambit of the Lokpal besides provisions for Citizen's Charter and setting up of Lokayuktas under a central law.

The 74-year-old social activist has also warned the government that he would sit on an indefinite fast from December 27 at the Ramlila Maidan here if a strong Lokpal Bill is not passed in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament.

The Lokpal Bill is seen as a weapon to root out corruption and nepotism from the government machinery and in public life.

The proposed Bill envisages the setting up of a national anti-corruption watchdog to check financial mismanagement and corrupt practices that have deeply pervaded several democratic and civic institutions of India.

Hazare had staged an indefinite hunger strike against graft that he gave up on August 28 when the government agreed to deliberate the issues raised by him and his forum vis-a-vis the passage and enactment of the Lokpal Bill, a suggestion that has received unprecedented nationwide backing. (ANI)