STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said here on Thursday that the Lokpal was first proposed way back in 1963 but was appointment only by the Modi Government, nearly 60 years later.
In reply to a starred question in Rajya Sabha today, Dr Jitendra Singh, who is also Minister Incharge DoPT, recalled that the suggestion for an Ombudsman-like arrangement was made by late Dr. L. M. Singhvi during a debate in Lok Sabha in 1963. Later on, it was in 1966 that the Administrative Reforms Commission actually recommended the appointment of Lokpal and Lokayukta.
Cryptically, referring to the earlier governments, Dr Jitendra Singh said, the Lokpal Bill was brought to the Parliament exactly 10 times in nearly six decades but it was never carried forward to its logical conclusion, possibly because of the lack of political will or the lack of commitment.
Citing the exact chronology, he said, the Bill was introduced in 1968, 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, and twice in 2011 respectively.
It was at the fag end of UPA-2 government, said Dr Jitendra Singh, that under public pressure the Bill was brought and hurriedly passed in January 2014, but in the haste, several inadequacies and incompletions were left, which came in way of its proper implementation. It was on the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said, that the Bill was brought to the Parliament once again in its amended and complete form, following which the appointment of the Lokpal and other Members was duly made.
This is, said Dr Jitendra Singh, a reiteration of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s consistent commitment to follow a policy of “zero-tolerance” against corruption. A series of reforms have been undertaken in the last seven years and appointment of Lokpal was also a sequel to that, he added.
In response to a supplementary question as to when the two vacancies of Judicial Members in the Lokpal body will be filled, Dr Jitendra Singh informed that the Chairman and the other nine Members had been duly appointed but unfortunately one Judicial Member died due to COVID during the ongoing pandemic while the other Judicial Member tendered his resignation. He said, replacement and appointment of these two vacancies will also be taken in due course.