Before the civil society and ministers sit for the first meeting of the committee, a member says the bill will curb corruption at centre only The joint committee for drafting the anti-graft Lokpal Bill will hold its first meeting today, government sources said. The meeting of the 10-member committee, comprising five Union ministers and five civil society representatives, will begin at 11.30 am, sources added. <img alt="" src="/imagedata/2011/apr/anna1234.jpg" border="5" /> Anna Hazare, who went on a 97-hour fast to demand a stronger Lokpal Bill to tackle corruption, is one of the five members from the civil society Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee is the chairman of the committee, while social reformer Anna Hazare, who went on a 97-hour fast to demand a stronger Lokpal Bill to tackle corruption, is one of the five members from the civil society. Law Minister Veerappa Moily, Home Minister P Chidambaram, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal and Minority Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed are the other ministerial members. Former law minister Shanti Bhushan, representing the civil society, is the co-chairman. Besides Hazare and Shanti Bhushan, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Right To Information activist Arvind Kejriwal and former Supreme Court judge N Santosh Hegde, Karnataka Lokpal, are also on the committee. All members of the committee are likely to attend the meeting, sources said. "The first meeting is likely to be of an introductory nature," Prashant Bhushan said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said that the bill will be introduced in the monsoon session of parliament in July. Lokpal bill will fight corruption at centre, not states: Former Justice Hegde The Lokpal Bill will only help fight corruption at the Centre and not in states where the magnitude of graft is alarming and accounts for almost 90 per cent of corruption in the country encountered by the common man, said former Supreme Court judge Justice N Santosh Hegde. Hegde, also the Lokayukta for Karnataka, is part of the 10-member committee set up by the government to draft the new bill following the hunger strike by reformer Anna Hazare. "The lokpal will deal with acts of omissions and commissions at the Centre such as alleged corruption by Union ministers, including the Prime Minister and Central government employees. However, there is much more corruption at the local level in states, which has to be tackled by the Lokayukta," he said. Hegde, who played a key role in drafting the various clauses of the Jan Lokpal Bill, the stronger alternative drafted by civil society members, hoped the fight against corruption and maladministration would not only be strengthened at the Centre but also in states. "The institution of the Lokpal at the Centre has been overdue. Unlike in Karnataka and a few states where the Lokayukta has been constituted and functioning, there is no such legal entity at the central-level for people to fight against corruption. There is an urgent need because corruption is also prevalent at the Centre, as evident from the various scams that surfaced recently," he said. Though the Lokpal may not deal directly with corruption cases and other grievances at the state level, Hegde said the members representing the civil society on the joint panel would strive to ensure that the act would be uniform and its powers applicable in all states through their respective Lokayuktas.

Before the civil society and ministers sit for the first meeting of the committee, a member says the bill will curb corruption at centre only

Anti-graft bill drafting panel to meet today

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