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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Khursheed: plan for constitutional status won't delay Lokpal Bill

Khursheed: plan for constitutional status won't delay Lokpal Bill

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published Published on Oct 18, 2011   modified Modified on Oct 18, 2011

The Union government's desire to give the Lokpal constitutional status will not in any way delay the proposed legislation on the subject, Law Minister Salman Khursheed said on Tuesday. Expressing surprise at the response of the Opposition and Team Anna — that it was a delaying tactic — he said that while the government was totally committed to getting the Bill passed, eventually it was the responsibility of Parliament to pass it. “We have already seen the sense of the House, and we don't think there will be any difficulty in getting the Bill passed.”

Tongue-in-cheek, Mr. Khursheed said: “It's turning out to be a contest between those accused of not wanting the Lokpal Bill [but] who actually want it [i.e. the Congress] and those who say they want the Bill but don't actually want it [the Bharatiya Janata Party].” Saying he did not wish to run down the BJP, the Minister — addressing the Indian Women's Press Corps here — said it was strange that while behind closed doors the Opposition party leaders would agree with government representatives that laws had to be made by Parliament, once outside, they would say something completely different.

Mr. Khursheed also totally rejected Team Anna's notion that “the people” could make and amend laws. He pointed out that the Constitution had been made by the Constituent Assembly, and all amendments thereafter by Parliament. Further, the government would not allow the basic structure of the Constitution to be tampered with in any way.

He, however, admitted that the government had been caught “unawares” by the anti-corruption movement, and the accompanying changes in Indian society that facilitated its spread. Pointing out that Team Anna had very effectively used the social media — Twitter, Facebook, etc — to get its message across, Mr. Khursheed said it did a “remarkable job.” But it was easier to do so from outside, because “you can get away with a lot more” than when you are in an “institutional set-up.” However, the use of the social media was “not just a technique, it is a strategy, a reflection of changing society.”

The last one year was difficult for the government, Mr. Khursheed conceded, as it had come under increasing attack for failing to tackle corruption. “Some things have gone wrong and they are wrong but they are not as significant as they are being projected,” he said, training his guns again on the BJP.

What happened in Karnataka, he said, was far bigger than the Opposition was willing to admit to. Referring to the former Chief Minister, B.S. Yeddyurappa, who has been arrested on charges of corruption, the Union Minister said, “In Karnataka, the head of the State was involved in corruption whereas at the Centre, a relatively junior MP in the Commonwealth Games [CWG] matter and a minister belonging to another alliance party in 2G case were involved.”

Nevertheless, the Law Minister stressed that the government “was not conceding defeat,” nor was it saying the Anna effect had worked everywhere, but where it has, “we must accept it has done so.”


The Hindu, 19 October, 2011, http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/article2550006.ece


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