New Delhi: The core group of the ruling Congress party met on Tuesday at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Parliament House office to discuss the Lokpal Bill.
The core group meeting, attended by Prime Minister Singh, Congress party president Sonia Gandhi, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Home Minister P. Chidambaram, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna and political secretary to the Congress president, Ahmed Patel, comes ahead of two important meetings coming up later on Tuesday.
Prime Minister Singh will hold meting with leaders of the ruling United Progressive Alliance constituents, to be followed by the cabinet meeting to finalise the draft of the Lokpal Bill submitted by the Parliament Standing Committee.
Prime Minister Singh has called an all-party meetingon Wednesday to discuss the Lokpal Bill in his bid to evolve a consensus and ensure smooth passage of the anti-corruption legislation.
According to indications, the government intends to introduce the Lokpal Bill in Parliament on December 20, a day before the winter session is scheduled to conclude. It is not yet clear if the government will succeed in getting the Lokpal Bill passed in this session.
