Given this situation, it is not right for the Congress to pretend to act unilaterally with regard to major decisions like the Lokpal Bill, said the non-Congress minister.
A political heavyweight belonging to the Manmohan Singh government told DNA that the Congress should understand that the UPA government does not enjoy a majority in Parliament and needs the support of all its allies to stay in power. Given this situation, it is not right for the Congress to pretend to act unilaterally with regard to major decisions like the Lokpal Bill, said the non-Congress minister.
He pointed out that all government representatives on the Lokpal drafting committee were from one party (the Congress). “There is a need to take all parties along on sensitive issues like these. What if the DMK pulls out? We will need the SP as well as the BSP,” he said.
“The allies are not making an issue of it because the draft bill would come before the Cabinet and then before Parliament. We will get to express our views twice in the matter,” the leader said.
The minister, one of the most seasoned politicians of the country, said many in the government, including allies of the Congress, are in favour of legislations like the Lokpal Bill because corruption is a serious issue. “But these decisions cannot be taken based on emotion.”
The leader said he would have dealt with the Lokpal issue differently.
“I would have invited the major opposition party, the BJP, and someone like Arun Jaitley, a seasoned lawyer, as well as CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury to be part of the drafting committee along with civil society representatives,” he said.
Though his party has kept a low-profile so far, the minister said it would make the right noises when the time is right. “Yes, we are keeping aloof at the moment because we are not part of the decision-making group (on Lokpal). But we will (talk) when the bill comes to cabinet,” he said.
The leader said Manmohan Singh may want the PM to be brought under the Lokpal, but a legislation once made remains a law forever.
“It affects institutions and not people alone,” he said.
The politician added: “If the PM has to take a major decision with an economic dimension with regard to foreign policy, it cannot be made public because national interests are at stake. These are issues which cannot be brushed aside while discussing the Lokpal Bill.”
The minister also flayed the Congress for rolling out the red carpet to yoga guru Baba Ramdev upon his arrival in the capital. He raised objections to ministers engaging with Ramdev at the airport and in a Delhi hotel. “This is not a democratic way of doing things,” he said.
The minister does not approve of the Congress’s style of replacing chief ministers either. “In the interregnum between the announcement of a chief minister stepping down and a new one being elected, the administration is without an executive head.
The staff stop going to the state secretariat and senior officers do not take decisions for many days. If this were to be replicated at the national level, there would be serious repercussions for the country,” he pointed out.
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