LG advises Speaker not to allow tabling of Jan Lokpal Bill

Lt Governor Najeeb Jung today advised the Delhi Assembly Speaker against allowing tabling of the Jan Lokpal Bill by the Aam Aadmi Party government, which said it will not revisit the issue.

Jung said the bill doesn't have the required clearance for introduction in the House.In a letter to Assembly Speaker M S Dhir, the LG said the AAP government did not go through the laid down procedures in getting approval for tabling of the bill and as custodian of the House he should consider these aspects while dealing with the issue.Top sources said crux of Jung's letter was that the Speaker should not allow tabling of the bill.

Immediately after Lt Governor's letter to Dhir, sources in the AAP government said they will not "revisit" the decision to table the bill.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had last night renewed his threat of resigning if the proposed legislation was defeated by Congress and BJP.

"We are ready to extend the session. We are not here to save the government. We will table the bill tomorrow. If they allow then it is okay, otherwise I will resign," he said.

In his letter to Dhir, Jung has indicated that tabling the bill without his concurrence will be unconstitutional.

Kejriwal has been maintaining that there was no need to obtain prior approval from the Centre or Lt Governor to table the bill while BJP and Congress are of the view that clearance was necessary under Transaction of Business Rules (TBR), 2002.

The Law Ministry has held that the Transaction of Business Rules (TBR) make it mandatory that the Lt Governor refers to the Centre every legislative proposal which may necessitate additional financial assistance.

The four-day session of the Assembly, which began yesterday, has been convened to pass the Jan Lokpal and Swaraj Bills.

DPCC's Chief Spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said the party will not allow tabling of the "unconstitutional" Jan Lokpal Bill as the AAP government did not follow the laid down procedures.

"We will never allow the AAP government to table the bill. The Lt Governor has already advised the Speaker to not allow tabling of the bill. The Speaker should follow the LG's advice," Sharma said.

Senior BJP leader Harsh Vardhan said his party will not support any unconstitutional move by the government.