PM okays lokpal draft, to be tabled on Dec 27

The Lokpal bill will be tabled in Parliament on December 27, with the winter session being extended till December 29 to pass the anti-graft law, official sources said.The government has taken this decision to keep the promise made by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in August that the Lokpal bill will be passed in the winter session, the sources added.

It also wants to defuse the agitation of Anna Hazare, who has threatened to go on a fast from December 27 if a stringent Lokpal bill is not passed.

As per the new schedule, both houses of parliament will adjourn for Christmas holidays December 22 and re-convene Dec 27.

The lokpal bill is scheduled to be come up for approval in the cabinet meeting to be held at 7.30 pm on Tuesday. It will be tabled alongwith the whistleblowers' bill, labour minister Harish Rawat told IANS.