The Law Ministry has favouredproviding safeguards for officials of the PMO to insulate themfrom questioning by Lokpal on sensitive issues like nationalsecurity, and the suggestion seems to have found support ofsome members of a Parliamentary panel.
The Ministry told the Rajya Sabha Select Committee onLokpal Bill that there was a need to change the draft of theBill to protect officials of Prime Minister's Office (PMO)from being questioned on sensitive issues on which the PrimeMinister himself is exempted.
Asked whether the protection provided to the PrimeMinister in the present bill on issues like national security,nuclear energy and public order covers his officials, theMinistry said, "It applies to PM in person. The secretariatwill be exposed (to probe) for that thing..."
When some panel members questioned that while the PMhimself cannot be questioned on national security by theLokpal, can his Principal Secretary be called to makedisclosures, Ministry officials said that in such a scenariothe provision needs modification.
Ministry officials said the provision should be suitablychanged and favoured a suggestion by a senior oppositionmember that the draft needs to be "cleaned up".
They also agreed with a suggestion that people who handlesensitive subjects should enjoy "immunity".
Chairman of the Committee Satyavrat Chaturvedi is learntto have said that a rational view will have to be taken on theissue on who would get protection.