New Delhi:
The UPA is scheduled to meet at the Prime Minister's residence this evening. The reunion of the parties that form the government at the Centre comes when a series of corruption scandals have damaged its credibility. The government is also at the final stages of negotiation with activists over the Lokpal Bill, intended to mature into a tough new law against corruption among politicians and bureaucrats.
The Lokpal Drafting Committee is made up of five ministers and five activists led by 74-year-old Gandhian Anna Hazare. Today the committee meets for the last time. Its self-imposed deadline for submitting the draft of the Lokpal Bill is June 30. The negotiations between the two sides of the committee have been vitriolic. Key differences persist - like whether the Bill should apply to the Prime Minister's office. The government has suggested that complaints of corruption against the PM should not be pursued till the PM's term is completed. Team Anna, on NDTV last night, categorically rejected that offer.
The government also needs to find consensus within its allies. The DMK - a senior partner - is upset over the arrest of Kanimozhi whose father, M Karunanidhi, heads the DMK. Mr Karunanidhi flew to Delhi this morning to meet Kanimozhi in jail. She was denied bail by the Supreme Court yesterday. The young MP has been arrested for accepting a Rs 214-crore kickback in the telecom scam which has dogged the government since September, when a report declared it to be India's largest-ever scam with a price tag of 1.76 lakh crores.
Sources say the DMK president will be represented by DMK leader TR Baalu.
The PM is also expected to informally discuss an impending Cabinet reshuffle. In addition to forcing the exit of under-performing ministers, the reshuffle will need to accommodate the wishlist of the UPA allies. Mamata Banerjee, for example, who has taken over as West Bengal Chief Minister, wants the Railways Ministry to be inherited by her party, the Trinamool Congress. (
Read: PM-Sonia start talks on major Cabinet reshuffle)
The Monsoon Session of Parliament has, meanwhile, been announced. It will start on August 1 and is scheduled to conclude on September 8. Earlier, this session was meant to commence on July 18 - the delay may not go down well with the Opposition, which wants to strike with issues like the telecom scam while they're hot.
(Read: BJP slams govt for pushing back monsoon session of Parliament)