In its effort to establish greater transparency and accountability in delivery of public services, the Odisha government is most likely to pass the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill 2013 in the ensuing Assembly session, beginning February 3.
Already pushed to the wall for not convening a special session to bring the much-hyped Bill and failing to keep its promises, the ruling BJD will try for a smooth passage of the Bill in the session, thus leaving little scope for the Opposition parties to criticize further, political analysts feel.
“Now, that the ten-day session will be the last sitting of the 14th State Assembly as the term of the present government completes in April, 2014, the Odisha government will gear up to continue its pioneering measures, and pass the Bill. Odisha is incidentally the first state to have a special Lokpal system since 1971,” said an analyst requesting anonymity.
In the past, the state government had drawn wrath of the Opposition parties for not “so serious” about passing the Bill.
“Since the ruling BJD had been claiming to be running a transparent government it should also convene a special session of the Assembly and pass a strong Lokayukta Bill as soon as possible,” India Against Corruption (IAC) volunteer Malay Tripathy had said in December last criticizing the BJD government for not keeping its promise on the formation of such a Bill.
Senior BJD leader and Lok Sabha MP Bhartruhari Mahatab on December 27, 2011 had said in Parliament that his party would bring a strong Lokayukta Bill in the ensuing budget session of the Assembly. But later he clarified that the Bill would be passed in the State Assembly within three months of it getting nod of Parliament.
Earlier, the Congress resurrecting the Bill issue had too denounced Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik for not keeping his promises of passing a strong Lokayukta Bill in the State Assembly.
On January 3, Odisha became the first state to announce the establishment of a Lokaukta in the state two days after President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent to the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill 2013, which Parliament passed in December.
"In view of our government's commitment to fight corruption and bring in transparency in public life, the state government will get this legislation enacted within a period of one month, even though the central Act provides for a window period of one year for implementation," Naveen Patnaik had said after a meeting of the state cabinet.
"The chief minister and the council of ministers will also be under the purview of the proposed state act," he added.
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