BJP defends move to back UPA's choice in Lokpal panel; says not a U-turn

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday defended the Narendra Modi-led NDA Government's decision to back the former UPA's regime choice in the Lokpal panel. BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said it is not a U-turn because the affidavit is related to the process and not to a person.

"There is no U-turn. If you look at the affidavit and understand the issue you would find that it is related to the process and not to a person. The government has stated in its affidavit that process of Lokpal selection is appropriate because it is done by an eminent collegium," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said.

Congress leader Rashid Alvi was, however, critical of the BJP-led government's move on the issue. "They have been opposing all these issues. Now, they are following the same path that was shown by the Congress party to the country that our government was following. The present government wants to follow the same path," said Alvi. Janata Dal-United (JD-U) leader Ali Anwar commenting on the issue said that it exposed the BJP's double standards.

"This is called double standards. When you are in opposition your stand is different and when you are in government your stand changes," he said. The BJP, which was in the opposition till a few months ago, was vehemently opposed to having on the Lokpal selection panel a senior advocate P.P. Rao, who was described by its top leaders as a Congress 'loyalist'. The BJP-led NDA Government, however, filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court on Friday and defended Rao's appointment as the 'eminent jurist' to the panel.