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Congress MP Manish Tewari, who apologised for calling anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare corrupt, wants to be out of the Parliamentary Standing Committee that will examine the Lokpal bill.
“I have decided to recuse myself from the panel. I want a strong Lokpal Bill,” Tewari told reporters here.
Tewari is one of the MPs who are members of the committee on law and justice who have come under criticism from the civil society for attacking Hazare.
The others - from among the 31 MPs on the panel - include Rashtriya Janata Dala leader Lalu Prasad Yadav. Presently, six seats are lying vacant.
There were speculations that the Standing Committee is being reconstituted, with possibly former Samajwadi leader Amar Singh and Yadav eased out. However, the panel’s chairman Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the Congress refused to comment.
“I have no locus standi to comment on the issue,” he said. He added that pulling out members and suggesting new names was done by political parties.
Tewari, a Lok Sabha member from Ludhiana in Punjab, came under widespread attack after calling Hazare, 74, corrupt “from head to toe.”
He made the comment when the social reformer from Maharashtra was fasting here for a strong Lokpal bill.
As the hunger strike drew widespread support from across the country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he saluted Hazare.
Tewari then offered regrets for his earlier comment.