Jan Lokpal Bill may heat up Delhi assembly on Friday

The Aam Aadmi Party government is unlikely to table the anti-graft Jan Lokpal Bill on the first day of the assembly session beginning on Thursday.

"The Bill will not be tabled today. It will be circulated among the members and may be tabled on Friday," government sources said.

They said as per the laid down procedure, voting for introduction of the Bill is likely to take place in the assembly on Friday, and if the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party vote against it then Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal may quit.

Going for a confrontation with the Centre, the AAP government has already declared that it was going ahead with the tabling of the Jan Lokpal Bill in the assembly even if the Union law ministry opined that Centre's prior approval was required.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been maintaining that there is no need to obtain prior approval from the Centre while the BJP and the Congress are of the view that clearance was necessary under Transaction of Business Rules, 2002.

Both the Congress and the BJP held the government's move as "unconstitutional", saying laid down procedures will have to be followed.

On Sunday, Kejriwal had threatened to resign if the Bill was not passed by the state assembly due to lack of support from other parties.

Last night, the Union law ministry had held that the rules governing the Delhi government's legislative business were constitutional whereas the Centre's consent was required before its passage. Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung on Monday had sought the law ministry's view on the vexed issue.

The law ministry has held that the Transaction of Business Rules make it mandatory that the Lieutenant Governor refer to the Centre every legislative proposal which may necessitate additional financial assistance.

The four-day session of the assembly is being convened to pass the Jan Lokpal and Swaraj Bills. The AAP government has announced plans to hold the last day of the session at the Indira Gandhi Indoor stadium despite objections to the move by the Lieutenant Governor.