Central Government issues official notification for committee to redraft Ombudsman bill

New Delhi, Apr 9 (ANI): The Central Government has issued an official notification for the formation of a committee to redraft the Ombudsman Bill.

Social activist Swami Agnivesh collected the copy of the notification copy from the residence of Telecom and Education Minister Kapil Sibal.

On receiving a copy of the notification, Agnivesh said the government has agreed more than was expected of it and thanked the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the chief of India's ruling Congress party, Sonia Gandhi, Sibal and the ruling UPA Government for addressing the concerns of the people.

" Now, I will take this notification to Anna Hazare, and he is waiting for me there, and then we are hoping, like he announced last night, that he would end his hunger strike at 10:30 this morning and we will celebrate this achievement," said Swami Agnivesh.

Agnivesh said that the notification clearly stated that by June 30, the committee would have the bill ready for it to be taken up in the monsoon session of the Parliament.

Meanwhile, Singh said he was happy that Hazare has ended his fast and added that an agreement to combat corruption augurs well for Indian democracy.

The Gandhian activist began the hunger strike in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Following the government's guarantee, Hazare, announced called off the fast today morning.

The Central Government gave an assurance of setting up a committee comprising civil society and elected representatives to draft a law as a victory for Indian democracy.

The panel will have ten representatives, five each from the government and the civil society representatives include Anna Hazare, lawyers Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan, anti-corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal and former Supreme Court judge Santosh Hegde.

The government will be represented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as chairman, federal Law Minister Veerappa Moily, federal Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal, federal Home (Interior) Minister P. Chidambaram and federal Water Resources Minister Salman Khurshid.

Hazare had recently contended that the Lok Pal in its present form as mooted by the government, was futile and hence his forum had drafted a separate Jan Lokpal Bill taking into account the views and suggestions from civil society.

Drafted by social activists, the bill stipulates that probes of any graft case should be completed in one year, and that the punishment would be a jail term of a minimum of five years and a maximum of life imprisonment. (ANI)