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Harish Gupta
NEW DELHI, MARCH 21: The Atal Behari Vajpayee Government is not unduly perturbed over the lapse of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) Bill, giving statutory powers to N. Vittal and his team to supervise the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate.
The CBI will return to the Prime Minister's Office after April 6. And the Government can place the blame for the Bill's lapse in the Rajya Sabha at the doorstep of the Congress.
Those who are familiar with the happenings in the Government and in Parliament between March 15 to March 19 feel that the statutory institution of the CVC could have been saved had the Government handled the Vishnu Bhagwat issue differently in the Upper House.
With Union Home Minister L K Advani stating in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday that the CVC would have to be ``wound up at least for some time'' because of the Congress's attitude of obstructionism, it seems certain that the CVC Ordinance will lapse on April 6. What Advani meant was that the CVC'soffice would continue but without statutory authority over the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
When contacted, Vittal declined to comment on the fact that the CVC's control over the CBI will cease to exist from April 6 and that the premier investigating agency would be back with the PM's office, at least for some time.
Vittal said: ``The office of the CVC existed for 34 years without statutory authority. It functioned under an executive order. It can be so for some more time.''
Though Parliamentary Affairs Minister P R Kumaramanglam and Advani alleged that the CVC Bill could not be passed due to the Congress' obstructionism, they did not explain why the Congress obstructed its passage in the Rajya Sabha when it went out of its way to get it passed within three hours in the Lok Sabha.
The Government is now seeking legal opinion from the Attorney General of India and the Law Ministry. Sources, however, say that this being the Budget session, the Rajya Sabha cannot be prorogued.
Copyright © 1999 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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