New Delhi, April 12 (AGENCIES): The Congress on Tuesday sought to widen the scope of the Lokpal Bill suggesting that the Joint Committee to draft the legislation could also go into the issue of corruption in the corporate sector and NGOs as part of a comprehensive package against graft.
“The anti-corruption law in the US can look into the functioning of the corporate sector and the NGO (non-governmental organisations) sector and it should be considered”, party General Secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters here.
However, he sidestepped questions as to whether a probe into corruption in the corporate sector and NGOs was ‘the need of the hour’. Singh also said that till now he considered Hazare a Gandhian with impeccable secular credentials. Replying to a question, he said that the National Advisory Council headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi could also go into the Jan Lokpal Bill formulated by Hazare and his supporters.
Asked whether Hazare and his supporters needed to be represented in the NAC, he merely said that “his supporters are already there”.
Insisting that the issue of corruption would not end with the enactment of the Lokpal Bill, he said that a comprehensive strategy needed to be evolved taking into consideration matters like the five-point plan unveiled by Gandhi at the party plenary for transparent governance. Replying to a volley of questions on Hazare and the campaign launched by him, he said that a battle had to be fought at every level against corruption including action against bureaucrats for disproportionate assets, as was taking place in Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir.
“It will be in the highest tradition of transparency if they declare,” he remarked when asked whether representatives of the civil society in the Joint Committee on the Lokpal Bill should declare their assets as the ministers on the panel have already done so. Describing Hazare as a “very fine human being who has done excellent service in the rural sector”, he took a dig at the Gandhian for praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
“There is no Lokayukta in Gujarat for seven years. The post is vacant and he is praising Modi. Why does he not pressurise Modi over the Jan Lokpal Bill and for appointing the Lokayukta as the people of Gujarat do not know where to complain”, Singh remarked.
Asked for his reaction over BJP veteran L K Advani’s statement that Hazare’s fast achieved more in four days than what the opposition had in two months when it was demanding a JPC probe into the 2G scam, Singh said it was a “sad reflection on the Opposition”.
Replying to a question, Singh hoped that Hazare and his supporters would declare the expenditure incurred by them on the hunger strike campaign against corruption held at Jantar Mantar here last week.
The Congress leader said it does not behove Hazare to paint all politicians with the same brush.
“Just like it is not proper to dub all voters as dishonest so is the case of politicians. I would like every such person who attacks politicians to contest elections”, he said remarking that Hazare should enter the poll fray.
Asked about the presence of Baba Ramdev and his followers, and about Sri Sri Ravi Shanker on the dais with Hazare during the fast, the Congress leader said, “They should themselves do some introspection on the people who were on the dais”.
To a query as to whether he felt that Hazare has any links with the RSS, he said that the background at the dais where the Gandhian had staged the fast-unto-death had the image of Bharatmata resembling an RSS event. He, however, insisted that Hazare is a Gandhian.
Singh did not agree with a questioner that the emergence of Hazare and his supporters as ‘representatives of civil society’ on the Lokpal issue had diluted the role of the NAC headed by Gandhi.
“The anti-corruption law in the US can look into the functioning of the corporate sector and the NGO (non-governmental organisations) sector and it should be considered”, party General Secretary Digvijay Singh told reporters here.
However, he sidestepped questions as to whether a probe into corruption in the corporate sector and NGOs was ‘the need of the hour’. Singh also said that till now he considered Hazare a Gandhian with impeccable secular credentials. Replying to a question, he said that the National Advisory Council headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi could also go into the Jan Lokpal Bill formulated by Hazare and his supporters.
Asked whether Hazare and his supporters needed to be represented in the NAC, he merely said that “his supporters are already there”.
Insisting that the issue of corruption would not end with the enactment of the Lokpal Bill, he said that a comprehensive strategy needed to be evolved taking into consideration matters like the five-point plan unveiled by Gandhi at the party plenary for transparent governance. Replying to a volley of questions on Hazare and the campaign launched by him, he said that a battle had to be fought at every level against corruption including action against bureaucrats for disproportionate assets, as was taking place in Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir.
“It will be in the highest tradition of transparency if they declare,” he remarked when asked whether representatives of the civil society in the Joint Committee on the Lokpal Bill should declare their assets as the ministers on the panel have already done so. Describing Hazare as a “very fine human being who has done excellent service in the rural sector”, he took a dig at the Gandhian for praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
“There is no Lokayukta in Gujarat for seven years. The post is vacant and he is praising Modi. Why does he not pressurise Modi over the Jan Lokpal Bill and for appointing the Lokayukta as the people of Gujarat do not know where to complain”, Singh remarked.
Asked for his reaction over BJP veteran L K Advani’s statement that Hazare’s fast achieved more in four days than what the opposition had in two months when it was demanding a JPC probe into the 2G scam, Singh said it was a “sad reflection on the Opposition”.
Replying to a question, Singh hoped that Hazare and his supporters would declare the expenditure incurred by them on the hunger strike campaign against corruption held at Jantar Mantar here last week.
The Congress leader said it does not behove Hazare to paint all politicians with the same brush.
“Just like it is not proper to dub all voters as dishonest so is the case of politicians. I would like every such person who attacks politicians to contest elections”, he said remarking that Hazare should enter the poll fray.
Asked about the presence of Baba Ramdev and his followers, and about Sri Sri Ravi Shanker on the dais with Hazare during the fast, the Congress leader said, “They should themselves do some introspection on the people who were on the dais”.
To a query as to whether he felt that Hazare has any links with the RSS, he said that the background at the dais where the Gandhian had staged the fast-unto-death had the image of Bharatmata resembling an RSS event. He, however, insisted that Hazare is a Gandhian.
Singh did not agree with a questioner that the emergence of Hazare and his supporters as ‘representatives of civil society’ on the Lokpal issue had diluted the role of the NAC headed by Gandhi.
