Industry bodies oppose Lok Pal ambit

It is learnt that the three bodies expressed their reservation over the inclusion of corporate sector under the ambit of the anti-corruption watchdog. They are understood to have maintained that since several laws were already governing corporates, there was no need to put them under the ambit of Lokpal.

Sources said that FICCI representatives suggested that the corporate sector could only be probed by the proposed Lokpal when issues of the magnitude of 2G spectrum scam and Karnataka mining scandal surface. Some members of the Committee termed FICCI`s conditional agreement to include corporate sector under the ambit of Lokpal as "vague".

Several members of the Committee have favoured inclusion of corporates and NGOs under the ambit of Lokpal saying that the anti-corruption body should not limit its mandate to ministers and lawmakers.