Arvind Kejriwal angered BJP by describing Dhumal’s Lokayukta Bill as ‘very weak & ineffective’.
Crossing swords with the BJP-led Himachal Pradesh government over their draft Lokayukta bill, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Monday called it ‘very weak and ineffective” and described it as a legislation that seeks to “provide illegitimate protection to corrupt people rather than punish them”.
“Himachal Pradesh government has drafted a Lokayukta bill. A copy of the same was sent to us for our comments. The bill is very weak, ineffective and seeks to provide illegitimate protection to corrupt rather than punish them,” he said.
Praising Uttarakhand model passed by the BC Khanduri-led BJP government last year, Kejriwal said, “Rather than adopting the strong model of Uttarakhand, the HP government has adopted many of the controversial provisions of the central government. This is unfortunate.”
“Does it mean that the BJP disowns the Uttarakhand bill? Does it also mean that the BJP and the Congress are on the same page on some of the controversial provisions of the central bill?” he said, pointing out lacunae in the Himachal government’s bill.
His criticism probably did not go down well with the BJP government as a programme scheduled for Monday morning involving him was canceled at the eleventh hour. According to sources, the state principal secretary (home) P C Dhiman was to present a copy of the Lokayukta Bill to Kejriwal but the programme was cancelled in the morning.
However, chief minister PK Dhumal suggested comparisons should not be drawn between bills as perception of the bill differed in the two states. “Team Anna wants Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill to be adopted in toto but Uttarakhand and HP have different perceptions about the Bill and we are not bound to accept the Bill in the same form,” Dhumal said and added the Uttarakhand Bill has not been given assent by the President so far.
He said the state government was keen to introduce and pass the Lokayukta Bill during the budget session ending on April 6. “We have invited suggestions from all sections of the society, including Team Anna, and the draft Bill has been posted on the website for comments and suggestions,” Dhumal said.
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