Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal (file pic)
A day after he slammed Delhi's Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung for attempting to stall the Jan Lokpal Bill, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has threatened to "go to any extent" to get his anti-graft legislation passed in the state assembly.
"Corruption is an extremely important issue and I will go to any extent," he said during an interaction with PTI editors.
"We have written to Home Minister to withdraw the (2002) order which directs Delhi government to take approval of the ministry before passage of any bill in the Assembly," Mr Kejriwal said, asserting that the Delhi government cannot follow these "unconstitutional rules."
"Lokpal" refers to an ombudsmen empowered to investigate and prosecute government officers accused of venality. Mr Kejriwal's Delhi Cabinet has already cleared the draft of the Jan Lokpal bill which provides for covering all public servants - from chief minister to Group D employees - and seeks life term as maximum punishment for those found guilty of corruption.
Mr Kejriwal's impressive debut in the Delhi elections was largely based on his pre-poll promises, the most prominent being his vow to bring an end to corruption through the Jan Lokpal Bill.
The chief minister now reportedly plans to present the Jan Lokpal Bill, which sanctions the ombudsman, to the Delhi Assembly at a special session later this month.
Mr Kejriwal today said that both the Congress and BJP will never allow passage of the bill since his government has decided to probe the alleged corruption in Commonwealth Games projects.
"They (Congress) realise that if there is a strong Lokpal then many of these people will get into trouble. For seven years BJP is in power in MCD and they may also get into trouble. If the bill is passed then all these CWG cases will go to Lokpal," the 45-year-old chief minister said.
Mr Kejriwal has repeatedly accused the union government of shielding corrupt ministers. The Lokpal law passed recently by Parliament is so ineffectual that "even a mouse will not be imprisoned" with it, he said, vowing that his version will be far more strident. It offers a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for government officers found guilty of graft.