Day after the Delhi Cabinet cleared the Jan Lokpal Bill, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday got nostalgic and recounted his days with “Team Anna” when he had burnt copies of the UPA government’s draft Lokpal bill, terming it “jokepal.” Launching an attack on the Opposition, the Aam Aadmi Party said that the Kejriwal government’s move has baffled many political parties.
“Feel nostalgic when i see this pic. We had burnt govt’s ‘jokepal’ at that ti-me,” Mr Kejriwal tweeted, attaching a picture of him holding a burning copy of the draft Lokpal bill in 2011.
AAP Delhi convenor Dilip Pandey suggested that BJP’s “fear” over Lokpal stems from the prevalence of rampant “corruption” in the civic bodies and the potential steps against it by the office of Lokpal in the future.
“BJP-run MCD is a hub of corruption. Everyone in Delhi experiences it. BJP-run MCD is financially and functionally collapsed. They know that Arvind Kejriwal won’t ever spare them. That’s why BJP is scared of Lokpal,” Mr Pandey said.
He added that the ruckus created by the BJP in the Vidhan Sabha and the continuous hindrance to stall the Jan Lokpal Bill is a sign of discomfort and fear of the BJP. “It may be noted that while the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi was in its preparation to table the bill, the BJP tried to create an impression that it was trying to push for the bill by meeting L-G. Now they are exposed with their resistance in passing the bill,” he said. In a series of tweets, the AAP’s social media team said that Lokpal does not suit the BJP as such an institution would ensure transparency, honesty and accountability, which are “threats” to the saffron pa-rty. “BJP’s opposition to AAP Govt’s Lokpal makes it clear that BJP is scared of Lokpal. The status quo politics of BJP stands exposed today as BJP opposes AAP’s strong anti corrupti-on legislation. BJP is scar-ed of Lokpal,” the tweets said.
The Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday evening had cleared the Jan Lokpal Bill, paving the way towards creating the post of an anti-graft ombudsman, which it claimed was similar to the one proposed during the Anna Hazare movement. The government said that it would table the bill in the Assembly soon after the business advisory committee takes call on the issue.
The draft bill, among other provisions, also brings the office of the chief minister under its purview and is on the lines of the Uttarakhand Lokpal Bill which stipulates time-bound probe.
