By IANS,
Kolkata: Taking a dig at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Anna Hazare on the fiasco over the Lokpal Bill, Congress leader and union Corporate Affairs Minister Veerappa Moily Tuesday accused both of confusing the country about the bill and creating anarchy.
“I don’t know how long it (debate over the bill) should go on…It has been on public debate since 1966. Even after the lapse of 50 years, this has been going on,” Moily told reporters on the sidelines of a programme organised by SREI Foundation here.
Claiming that the central government had incorporated all the amendments originally proposed by the Team Anna, Moily said: “Everytime they have changed their goal posts”.
“Anna’s team and BJP should be very clear what kind of amendment they would like… we have talked to them, we have incorporated all the amendments originally proposed by the Anna Hazare team, but every time they have changed their goal posts. I think if this is the kind of uncertainty, that means they don’t want a Lokpal bill,” he said.
Moily alleged that the BJP and Team Anna were wanting to make the bill a political agenda so that “they can create confusion in the country and create anarchy”.
The Congress and the BJP Monday resumed trading charges on the Lokpal bill, holding each other responsible for the bill not being passed by parliament during its winter session.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi claimed that the BJP voted against the constitutional amendment bill on Lokpal because it was party general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s idea, while BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad questioned the prime minister’s silence over the issue.
The Lokpal bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on the first day of the specially extended three-day session of parliament while the Rajya Sabha debated the legislation but adjourned without voting on it on the last day.