Reports from Delhi quoted Arvind Kejriwal as saying that the Team hoped that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, who had on June 30 promised Team Anna that he would enact a strong Lokayukta law, brings a strong Bill on the lines of the one passed by Uttarakhand Assembly.

According to him Bihar government’s proposed Lokayukta Bill is nothing but a copy of the much-criticised Centre’s draft against which Anna sat on a fast.

Kejriwal said selection, suspension and removal of Lokayukta would be in Bihar government's control and therefore it would not be independent, as per the draft.

The draft also says the Lokayukta needs permission from government to investigate and prosecute any government officer and punishment to a complainant if he files a frivolous complaint and punishment for a corrupt officer is the same, six months to five years.

Kejriwal said as per the draft, corrupt officers would also get free legal assistance provided by government against the complainant.

According to him these are the same provisions that were there in central government's draft Lokpal Bill and Anna sat on a fast against these provisions.

Kiran Bedi, another leading light of Team Anna said the proposed Lokayukta Bill of Bihar was a ‘replica’ of the UPA government’s Lokpal against which they had all agitated.

It must be recalled that the Nitish cabinet on Tuesday evening decided to seek public opinion on the proposal for effective and strong Lokayukta by November 22 and formed a committee headed by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi to finetune the draft of the Lokayukta Bill which is proposed to be tabled in the Winter Session of the State Assembly in December.

Though the print media in Bihar on Wednesday reported that many of the features of the draft Bill are similar to the one proposed in the Jan Lokpal Bill Team Anna’s strong criticism had exposed the claim.

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