JOIN USLokpal bill this session
The first session of the new Assembly session starting February 23 may see the Aam Aadmi Party government introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill and a full statehood bill to send a strong message about its commitment to fulfil its poll promises.
Sources in the AAP said no immediate changes may come about despite the passing of the two bills as these will be referred to the central government but Arvind Kejriwal cabinet will at least manage to achieve what it has set out for.
“Jan Lokpal Bill is a big and emotional issue for the AAP which has risen on the promise of ending corruption,” said a leader.
This is the reason that the passing of the anti-corruption law is listed as the first item on the list of 70 poll promises made by the AAP.
Party sources said the AAP government would try to pass in the House the very same draft of the Jan Lokpal bill that was prepared during the Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption agitation in 2011.
A leader said the draft of the statehood bill is also ready and Kejriwal will try to introduce it in the two-day session itself. The draft of the proposal may talk about handing over some parts of the police functions, like traffic police to the state government, said the leader.
Kejriwal while taking oath of office as the eighth chief minister of the city at Ramlila Ground on February 14 had renewed his vow to bring in the anti-graft legislation, without setting a deadline for its passage.
Last year, he had quit the government after just 49 days amid a row over the Jan Lokpal bill that was allegedly blocked in the Delhi Assembly by other parties. Passing the Jan Lokpal bill and full statehood status for Delhi were AAP’s major planks in the recently concluded Delhi Assembly polls.
The control over police and land matters in the city are two key components of the statehood issue. Kejriwal has time and again claimed that security in the city does not directly come under his government .
He has been a strong advocate of giving direct control of police to the Delhi government, a demand which has repeatedly been rejected by MPs who want their security in the national capital to be handled by the central government.