Nitish said that the government had enlisted the suggestions and views of various leaders during the meeting which would be vetted by the three-member ministerial group headed by Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi before finalising the draft for a strong and effective Lokayukta.

Nitish said that after fine-tuning the draft, the Bill would be brought for approval by the state cabinet and then forwarded to Governor Devanand Konwar for his nod.

The Bill is likely to be tabled on December 5.

However, the state RJD chief Ramchandra Purve asked as to what is the necessity of rushing with the Bill at this stage. It should have been circulated for opinions from panchayat level to district, division and state level.

Congress Legislature Party leader in the state Assembly Sadanand Singh said that the present draft was nowhere near the Act enacted by the Uttrakhand government, He suggested that there was immediate need for serious debate on the form of the Bill from all level to rein in corruption.

The Congress leader said that the Chief Minister should have waited as a decision was expected on the Lokpal Bill in near future. In the event of enactment of any law on the issue of Lokayukta by the Centre, the whole exercise being carried forward on Lokayukta in Bihar, would become infructuous.

On the other hand Bahujan Samaj Party leader Baban Kushwaha demanded that the Lokayukta be a seven-member body with representation from minorities, SC/ST and women. He also demanded that the selection process of the Lokayukta be transparent.

The state CPI Secretary Badri Narayan Lal described the draft Bill as weak. The party gave several suggestions.

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