'Calling me as special invitee to Lokpal selection panel an eyewash': Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge writes to Narendra Modi

File image of Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge. PIB[/caption]In his letter, Kharge alleged that the government move to invite him, the leader of the single largest Opposition's party, as a 'special invitee' is a farcical move to scuttle the Opposition's voice.He pointed out that there is no provision in the Lokpal and Lokayukta Act for a special invitee to be a member of the selection panel.He contended this would mean that he was invited to attend the meet "without rights of participation, recording of opinion, and voting in the procedure," which is a way to mislead the nation.With the Congress winning less than the stipulated 10 percent of the seats in the 2014 general election, the party lost the status of the prime Opposition party as per set procedure.The Centre had flagged two hurdles in implementing the Lokpal law as it exists, one of which was that it provides that the selection panel should have the Leader of Opposition (LOP) as one of its members, but there is no recognised LoP in the current 16th Lok Sabha.Meanwhile, anti-graft crusaders have been demanding a change in the Lokpal to allow 'leader of the single largest Opposition party in the Lok Sabha' to facilitate the participation of the Opposition's voice.