Indore: Congress General Secretary Digvijay
Singh on Saturday said that politicians were indispensable for
drafting the Lokpal Bill.
"Though I am in favour of the Bill, the job of finalising
the draft for such an important institution cannot be left
just to a few members of the civil society," Digvijay said
during an interaction at Indore Press Club today.
He asked why only a select members of the civil society
were in the present panel (besides ministers). "Are
politicians uncivilised? Can't they be members of civil
society?"
Singh suggested that the drafting committee should invite
representatives of all the political parties to discuss the
bill, and it should also ponder how the corporate sector and
NGOs could be brought within the ambit of Lokpal.
"If Anna Hazare and his associates think that whatever
they decide in the name of civil society is sacrosanct, it is
not acceptable," the Congress leader said.
He also said that it could not be expected that the draft
finalised by the civil society members would be accepted as it
was. "How can anyone take away the rights of the elected
representatives?"
Singh said Hazare was a nice man, but was in the grip of
some people who were using him. When asked if politicians were
afraid of Hazare, he said, "Not at all. I used to touch his
feet and will do so in future also. But, we will not accept
his view that all politicians and voters are dishonest.
Digvijay also said that he respected senior counsel
Shanti Bhushan and his son Prashant Bhushan as lawyers, but
successfully practising law and drafting a bill were two
different things.
"If we want to root out the corruption, then Lokpal alone
will not serve the purpose. We have to focus on basic issues,"
he remarked.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, April 16, 2011, 19:46