In a much awaited decision, the Union Cabinet meeting on Tuesday cleared the Lokpal Bill, which may be tabled in Parliament on December 22. The final draft of the bill was okayed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier today. 

Not yielding to Anna Hazare's demand, government is understood to have decided to keep CBI out of the purview of the proposed Lokpal. The CBI itself had said that it does not want to come under the purview of the Lokpal. To bring the investigating agency under Lokpal’s ambit, amendments will be needed for which the government is not ready, as is being said. 

The draft Cabinet note, to which officials of the Personnel and Legislative Department had given final touches last night, was sent to the PM who has cleared it for the special Cabinet meeting tonight. Home Minister P Chidambaram, Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal discussed the amendments to the Lokpal yesterday and finalised the changes. 

Minister of State for Personnel V Narayansamy was also part of these discussions, in a day which saw hectic parleys in the national capital yesterday. 

Sources said that the Lokpal would have no control over the CBI, a demand strongly pursued by Hazare and his team during the last several months. The sources also said there would be no separate Directorate of Prosecution of the CBI under the Lokpal. 

Among other amendments proposed to the existing Lokpal Bill is that the panel to choose CBI chief would comprise the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India. The Chief Justice of India is being named in the place of Lok Sabha Speaker as originally planned. 

The bill will also provide for impeachment of the Lokpal for which 100 MPs have to initiate a proposal. The Lokpal also cannot initiate a probe on its own and can only act on complaints referred to it, the sources said. 

The office of PM is expected to be brought within the purview of Lokpal with certain safeguards. 

Meanwhile, accusing the UPA of ignoring the voice of people, Anna Hazare today said he will go ahead with his fast from December 27, alleging that a "weak" Citizens' Charter Bill showed that government's intentions were not honest on Lokpal Bill. 

Rejecting the Citizens' Charter Bill, Hazare said the people of the country were cheated by the government and he will go ahead with the plans to campaign against the government in the Assembly elections in five poll-bound states. 

"Let the government go its way, we will go our way. I have decided that I will continue to fight till there is life in me," the 74-year-old activist told reporters at his native village here in Maharashtra. 

“The intentions of the government are not honest. It is decided that my fast will go ahead. I will fast on December 27, 28 and 29. From December 30, onwards there will be jail bharo agitation till January 01," Hazare told reporters. 

Maintaining that the government's intentions on bringing an effective Lokpal bill were "suspect", Hazare said the government was ignoring the "voice of the people". 

"The common man's life has become miserable due to all-pervasive corruption. But the government has become blind. It cannot see or hear the suffering of the people," he said. 

"This government has turned blind. It does not see the problems of people. This government has turned deaf. It does not hear the problems of people. Crores of people are demanding Jan Lokpal Bill. But it is not listening," he said. (PTI)