Revised Lokpal Bill draft meets most concerns: Kiran Bedi

While main opposition BJP and the anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare have rejected the revised Lokpal Bill draft cleared by the Union Cabinet, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi has backed the amended anti-graft legislation.

Zeenews Bureau

New Delhi: While main opposition BJP and the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare have rejected the revised Lokpal Bill draft cleared by the Union Cabinet, former IPS officer and activist Kiran Bedi has backed the amended anti-graft legislation, saying it meets most of the concerns. Speaking to a private TV news channel, Friday, social activist Bedi said, “The revised Lokpal bill draft meets most of our concerns.” Bedi, also a key member of the Team Anna, further said that it is time to give up the opposition. Hours after the Union Cabinet approved the recommendations made by the Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha and cleared the amended draft of the bill, Bedi also posted her reaction on the popular social networking website Twitter. "It will do us no harm if we begin with proposed lokpal and v keep improving it as we go along!Being very high powered it will carry weight!" - Kiran Bedi (@thekiranbedi) January 31, 2013. Bedi’s support to the revised Lokpal Bill draft assumes significance since her mentor and the anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare yesterday rejected it, terming it as a “farce”. The Gandhian activist also threatened to launch a massive agitation if the UPA government pushed forward a "weak" legislation. The 75-year-old anti-graft activist also questioned UPA government`s commitment to root out corruption in the country, saying he does not "trust" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi to bring a stringent Bill for creating an anti-corruption ombudsman. "Both PM and Sonia Gandhi can no more be trusted to bring a stringent Lokpal bill to root out corruption ... Had they been committed to the issue it would not have taken two years to take a concrete decision in this regard," Hazare told reporters in Patna. Importantly, Aam Admi Party chief and civil rights activist Arvind Kejriwal also criticized the revised draft, questioning the government’s motive in making a law which is compassionate towards corrupt people. "Why have you so much compassion in your heart for corrupt people. This is beyond understanding. It is because all these political parties have corrupt people," he said, questioning why legal assistance will be provided to people accused of corruption. With Agency Inputs