The meeting agreed that the government should bring the Bill before the next session of Parliament.
According to a senior opposition leader who attended the meeting, the political parties asked the government to first table the bill in Parliament so that a proper discussion on the issue could follow in the house.
Earlier in his opening remarks the Prime Minister reiterated government’s commitment to the enactment of a Lokpal Act, which provides for a strong, effective and quick institutional arrangement for tackling corruption in high places.
Dr Manmohan Singh reaffirmed that the bill will be presented before Parliament in the coming Monsoon Session. Urging the parties to arrive at the widest possible consensus, he assured that their views will be appropriately taken into account while presenting a suitable bill in Parliament.
The Prime Minister had convened the meeting of all political parties in the backdrop of differences between the representatives of government and civil society in the drafting committee on certain provisions of the bill.
After the meeting, BJP leader Mrs Sushma Swaraj said her party did not agree with a number of provisions of govt’s Lokpal bill like selection and jurisdiction. She said, the BJP will present its views on Lokpal bill when it is discussed in Parliament.
The meeting was attended by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal, M Veerappa Moily, Sharad Pawar and T R Baalu (DMK).
The Opposition was represented by BJP leaders veteran L K Advani, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, JD(U) chief Sharad Yadav, S S Dhindsa of the (Akali Dal) Sitaram Yechury CPM), D Raja (CPI), Lalu Prasad (RJD) and V Maitreyan and M Thambidurai (both AIADMK), S C Mishra (BSP) and Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) attended the meeting.