New Delhi:
Sources have told NDTV that Congress spokesman and Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari has been re-nominated as a member of the Standing Committee that is reviewing the Lokpal Bill.
On Wednesday, Mr Tewari had said he has decided to recuse himself from the parliamentary panel, saying he supported "a strong, effective Lokpal Bill, but I do not want any controversy to cast a shadow on the deliberations of this important bill." "Media reports suggest that some would object to my appointment," he added.
Mr Tewari recently made headlines for his stringent criticism of and subsequent apology to Anna Hazare. He came in for widespread criticism for saying that anti-corruption crusader Anna was "steeped in corruption from head to toe"; the criticism came not only from the opposition, Anna's supporters and people at large, but also from many in his own party. He later apologised.
"I know some of my recent utterances have caused hurt to Mr Hazare. I regret the same and I would like to appeal to him as a citizen of this country to end his fast...In the course of political cut and thrust, certain things are inadvertently said which cause pain," Mr Tewari had said.
Anna Hazare's team was not impressed; his lawyer Milind Pawar has said a case of defamation will be filed against the Congress MP in a Pune court next week.
The Standing Committee is made up of 31 MPs from both Houses of Parliament. The term of the previous Standing Committee on Law and Justice, chaired by Congress Rajya Sabha MP Abhishek Manu Singhvi, ended on Wednesday. The next meeting of the panel is scheduled for September 7. Members are nominated to the panel based on party strength and party recommendations.