Lok Pal Bill: Is BJP Trying to Overtake Anna Hazare
posted on Aug 19, 2011 @ 1:31PM
A lot of turmoil pertaining to bringing out a strong Lok Pal Bill is going on in and outside the Parliament. With the UPA government led by Smt. Sonia Gandhi already presenting a draft Lok Pal Bill in the Parliament, team Anna Hazare took to the streets demanding the government to replace it with 'Jan Lok Pal Bill' drafted by the civil society.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi said he would introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill, drafted by Team Anna, as a private member's bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday. "I have discussed the issue with the Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj. I hope this way I would be able to make a small contribution towards the legislative process. I hope the bill would make powerful people accountable. I am not arguing that this is a perfect piece of legislation but better than anything the nation has seen before. I thought rather than agitating, I would make a small contribution in my own way," Varun said in an interview given to a channel.
On the other hand, Anna Hazare chose to go on a 15 day fast instead of testifying before Parliamentary Standing Committee, which is scrutinizing the government introduced draft bill. In case Varun Gandhi's 'private member' bill is introduced tomorrow, invariably it will also be subjected to the scrutiny by the Standing Committee. If the Standing Committee selects government's bill among the two, certainly BJP would protest the move in support of it's member. The issue will get transformed into - two sets of Parliamentarians presenting two different sets of bills. Then, what locus standi would Anna and his team will be left with?