New Delhi:
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi today urged "the opposition and all parties", to help pass the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, a day after ally Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party warned the government against pushing the proposed anti-corruption law.
"This is a matter of national importance. We would like all parties to put aside small differences and do this job," Mr Gandhi said at a press conference, flanked by union ministers P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal. (
read: highlights of press conference)
Shortly afterwards, the BJP leaders hit back, questioning, "Why us? We support the Bill; the Congress and its allies are blocking it."
"The BJP is prepared to pass the Lokpal Bill as approved by Select Committee (parliamentary party) without a discussion in the Parliament. Let Rajya Sabha pass the Lokpal Bill on Monday, we will pass the Bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday," said the BJP's Sushma Swaraj, the leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
The Lokpal Bill seeks to create an independent national agency empowered to investigate charges of corruption against government servants.
Rahul Gandhi denied that his party was in a hurry to pass the Bill to redeem itself after its defeat in state polls, five months ahead of the national election due by May.
He also said it was "unfair" to say that the party was reacting to the success of Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party. "We have already brought the Right To Information law, which is the single biggest weapon to fight corruption, and we brought it at a time we were doing well," he said.
The Congress appeal seemed directed at key ally Samajwadi Party, which has threatened to support a no-confidence motion against the government on Telangana, if the Lokpal Bill is passed.
The Samajwadi Party, whose 21 MPs offer external support to the Manmohan Singh government, opposes the anti-corruption Bill as they say it will create a "police state". The party yesterday incessantly disrupted a discussion on the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.