Kolkata: Close on the heels of Anna Hazare
threatening another round of agitation on Lokpal issue, the
government, Team Anna and opposition parties BJP and CPI(M)
said on Saturday they are willing for an open dialogue on a strong
anti-corruption Bill.
"The doors are open and we have never shut it. Rather,
it was Team Anna which had slammed the door on us," Union Law
Minister Salman Khurshid said at a debate here today the
motion of which was 'In the demand for a strong Lokpal, does
the end justify the means?'
He said that what was required was the right language
and the right means for a dialogue.
Team Anna members Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal said
they were also ready for a dialogue with the government and
others and contended the draft Lokpal Bill lying with the
Standing Committee was a "watered down version".
It was not the one which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
had committed on three issues like Citizen's Charter, roping
in the lower bureacracy within its ambit and creation of
Lokayuktas, Bedi and Kejriwal said.
Bedi alleged draft Bill did not propose to give autonomy
to CBI which made it weaker.
Reacting to this, Khurshid said "we will not present a
strong Lokpal Bill but a stronger one than they have imagined.
"Issues like Citizens Charter and Lokayuktas will be to
the satisfaction to the people," he said.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, December 04, 2011, 00:05