Thaindian News

New Delhi, Dec 30 (IANS) Accusing the government of having no intention to pass the Lokpal bill, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal Friday said all the disturbances in the Rajya Sabha had been pre-planned.

Had the Lokpal bill been passed in the Rajya Sabha Thursday, it could have been at least a good start, but the government had no intention to pass the bill and it has deceived the people, Kejriwal said at a press conference here.

“The manner in which the government orchestrated the disruption of the proceedings in the Rajya Sabha and prevented a vote on the opposition’s amendments to the bill exposes the hollowness of its claim that it is committed to an effective anti-corruption legislation,” he said.

“The bill brought and passed in the Lok Sabha by the government is a cruel joke on the people in the name of a Lokpal bill,” Kejriwal said.

He alleged the Congress devised “tactics” for delaying the procedure in the upper house of parliament.

“The lengthy speech delivered by leaders and disturbance caused by RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) led by Lalu (Prasad) Yadav was done according to a script written before. Everything was pre-decided,” he said.

“The government did not have majority in Rajya Sabha, yet they knew how to play with the parliament process. The government has deceived the people of the country,” he said.

Another Team Anna member, Kiran Bedi said: “This bill is not only ineffective but some of its provisions are a threat to democracy and would end up weakening the existing anti-corruption systems.”

“The proceedings of the last three days in parliament have brought to the fore some critical deficiencies in our democracy. These proceedings have demonstrated how the Indian democracy and parliament are hostage to the ruling party after elections for the next five years,” Team Anna said in a statement.

Holding the government responsible for not passing the bill, Team Anna said the Congress adopted a “my way or high way” approach. “They were obstinate, not willing to listen to anyone. They did not want any of these amendments to go through.”

“Speakers were allowed to give lengthy speeches to kill time. And then taking shelter behind parliamentary procedures, the parliament was adjourned sine die at midnight without voting.”

“The government used everything in its control to avoid voting. They did the same thing Aug 27 when there was a strong demand to have a voting on the parliamentary resolution. If the government would avoid voting like this, what would be left of democracy?” the statement said.