Zeenews Bureau
New Delhi: The BJP on Thursday took the ‘Lokpal Bill fiasco’ to Rashtrapati Bhavan, and submitted a memorandum to President Pratibha Patil over the issue.
Addressing reporters here, after BJP MPs marched to the President’s house and met Pratibha Patil, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said the UPA government did not want a strong Lokpal.
That is why it created “contrived disturbance” in the House to ensure the Lokpal Bill was not put to vote, Jaitley alleged.
He added that the government’s plan to create disturbance in the Rajya Sabha was “an open secret” that was out in the media long before witnessed in the House.
“This is the first time in the history of Parliament” that such a thing happened, the BJP leader stated.
He further informed that the BJP delegation submitted a memorandum to the President and requested her to call a special Parliament session so that the Lokpal Bill could be put to vote.
“The President assured us that she would examine the memorandum,” Jaitley said.
Among the BJP leaders who met the President include LK Advani, Nitin Gadkari, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh.
The decision to meet President was taken by the BJP's core group a day after the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die on the midnight of December 29 last year without putting to vote the Bill for an anti-graft ombudsman.
The main opposition party is also launching a week-long nationwide agitation against the Congress.
BJP has already begun a "save democracy, remove Congress" campaign throughout the country from January 3 to 10.
Calling the midnight drama in Rajya Sabha as the "murder of democracy by the UPA government", the BJP alleged the UPA government ran away from vote since it lacked adequate majority in the Upper House.
Party leaders had also said that the government's handling of the Lokpal Bill will figure in speeches of party leaders in poll-bound states.
First Published: Thursday, January 05, 2012, 09:16