Civil society activists to declare assets

New Delhi, Apr 15 (ANI): With the first meeting of the of the newly-constituted Joint Committee comprising ministers and civil society activists to draft an effective Lokpal Bill to held tomorrow, the NGO India Against Corruption (IAC) has announced that the civil society members, who are a part of the panel will declare their assets on Friday.

The NGO in a statement said: "We have received a total donation amounting to Rs 8,287,668. We have issued receipts to all the donors and have maintained a record of their details."

Meanwhile, veteran social activist Anna Hazare has appealed to the people to stay united in the fight against corruption.

Anna Hazare called off his hunger strike last Saturday bringing to an end his 98-hour protest after the government issued a gazette notification constituting a 10-member Joint Committee of Ministers and civil society activists, including him, to draft an effective Lokpal Bill.

The notification by the Ministry of Law and Justice said the Joint Drafting Committee to prepare a draft of the Lok Pal Bill will have five ministers from the government and five nominees of Hazare, including himself.

The five Ministers are Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Chairperson, Home Minister P Chidamabaram, Law Minister Veerappa Moily (Convenor), HRD Minister Kapil Sibal and Water Resources Minister Salman Khurshid.

The civil society will be represented by Anna Hazare, former Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde, former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan (Co-Chairperson), lawyer Prashant Bhushan and RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.

The notification said the Joint Drafting Committee will commence work forthwith evolving its own procedure to prepare the proposed legislation. The committee is required to complete its work latest by June 30. (ANI)