Agree with essence of demand,but not all his views: BJP

She said the BJP has already lent its support to the campaign mounted by Anna Hazare

Demanding a very stringent and effective Lokpal Bill to fight corruption,the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha,Sushma Swaraj,on Thursday asked the government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue. She said the BJP has already lent its support to the campaign mounted by Anna Hazare.

Sensing that the UPA government has found itself in a spot,the BJP has found it politically convenient to extend support to Hazare and mount pressure on the government to convene an all-party meeting,though a section of the party is not fully in agreement with the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by the social activists group and is also cagey about the ramifications of the civil society over-reach.

We agree with the essence of his demand, BJP spokesperson Prakash Javadekar said at the official briefing. Javadekar,however,made it clear that the BJP does not agree with all his views but backs the demand to have an effective Lokpal Bill since the draft Bill prepared by the government is totally toothless and useless.

The BJP agrees that there has to be an effective law to check corruption covering both the political class and bureaucracy,measures such as confiscation of property of those found guilty should be put in place,and trial in corruption related cases need to be fast-tracked. But it is apprehensive about civil society groups seeking a role in legislation-making exercise. The party,however,does not want the pressure on the government to be eased. It is the governments problem8230;The government of the day has to handle the crisis, a BJP leader said candidly when asked whether it was desirable to allow civil society groups to dictate terms to the government.

Swaraj said that the BJP was with Hazare in his crusade against corruption and requested him to call off his fast. His life is very precious, she tweeted.

While the BJP said it agreed with the essence of Hazares demand,some leaders went a step ahead and favoured a joint committee comprising civil society and government representatives to draft the Bill. Their demand for a joint committee is genuine. There should be 50 per cent social activists in the committee and they should be involved in making the Bill, former BJP chief Rajnath Singh said.

His party colleague Venkaiah Naidu pointed out that a joint committee can only prepare the draft. Finally,it will come before the Cabinet and then Parliament,where it will be thoroughly debated, he said.

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The CPM,too,spoke about the need for an effective Lokpal legislation but was silent on the idea of a joint committee and only asked the government to consult civil society groups. It is imperative that the government set up a mechanism without delay to consult all political parties,social activists and citizens groups to finalise a new draft legislation, the Politburo said.