Govt. schedules meeting on Lokpal for March 1

Govt. schedules meeting on Lokpal for March 1

Context:

• The government will invite the leader of the single largest Opposition party to attend a meeting scheduled for March 1 to discuss the long-pending appointments to the anti-corruption ombudsman, Lokpal.

Significant development:

• This is a significant development as the government has for years taken the position that Lokpal appointments could be made only after amending the law to replace the Leader of the Opposition with the single largest party Opposition leader on the high-level selection committee.

Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013:

• Under the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act of 2013, the high-level selection committee for appointments to Lokpal comprises the Prime Minister, Lok Sabha Speaker, the LoP, the Chief Justice of India and an eminent jurist chosen by them.
• The 16th Lok Sabha does not have an LoP as the Congress party failed to get the required 10 per cent membership in the Lok Sabha post the 2014 parliamentary elections.

Eminently workable legislation:

• The judgment authored by Justice Gogoi called the Lokpal Act of 2013 an “eminently workable legislation” in its present form itself.
•  He observed that the 2013 Act provided enough room for the appointment of Lokpal chairperson and members even in the absence of a recognised LoP.

About The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013:

Background:

• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, commonly known as The Lokpal Act, is an anti-corruption Act of Indian Parliament which “seeks to provide for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public functionaries and for matters connecting them”.
• The Bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011 and was passed by the House on 27 December as The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011.
• It was subsequently tabled in the Rajya Sabha on 29 December.

Corruption Perceptions Index:

• In 2011, India ranked 95th in the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International.
• A recent survey estimated that corruption in India had cost billions of dollars and threatened to derail growth.
• India lost a staggering $462 billion in illicit financial flows due to due to tax evasion, crime and corruption post-Independence, according to a report released by Washington-based Global Financial Integrity.