Social activist Mr Anna Hazare called off his hunger strike on Saturday, shortly after the Government issued a gazette notification constituting a 10-member Joint Committee of Ministers and civil society activists to draft an effective Lokpal Bill.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, issued a statement saying that the Government intends to introduce the “historic legislation” in the monsoon session of Parliament. He described the coming together of civil society and the Government on the Lokpal Bill as a step that augurs well for democracy, claiming that it “signifies the mutual resolve to combat corruption”.
The notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice said the Joint Drafting Committee to prepare a draft of the Lokpal Bill will have five Ministers from the Government and five nominees of Mr Hazare, including him. The Ministers are the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, who will chair the panel, the Home Minister, Mr P. Chidamabaram, the Law Minister, Mr Veerappa Moily, the HRD Minister, Mr Kapil Sibal, and the Water Resources Minister, Mr Salman Khurshid.
The civil society will be represented by Mr Hazare, the former Law Minister, Mr Shanti Bhushan, who will be co-chairperson of the panel, former Supreme Court judge, Mr Santosh Hegde, lawyer Mr Prashant Bhushan and RTI activist Mr Arvind Kejriwal.
The notification said the Joint Drafting Committee will commence work “forthwith” evolving its own procedure to prepare the proposed legislation. The committee shall complete its work latest by June 30, it said.