New Delhi, Jan 8 (ANI): Union Law and Justice Minister Salman Khurshid lauded veteran social activist Anna Hazare and his brigade of anti-graft campaigners for bringing the Lokpal Bill debate into mainstream political discourse.
Khurshid said this in an exclusive interaction with Asian News International in New Delhi.
However, the Law Minister also took a dig at Hazare for his perceived negative bias towards the Congress party on the issue of corruption.
"They have something to offer and they have done it. I think they have, having put the very issue of Lokpal in the mainstream of the discourse of the current politics, is itself a major, major development and I think they can certainly take credit for it. But, you know, being a neutral, effective public voice, part of the civil society and being aligned to a political party is a world of difference," said Khurshid.
The Lokpal Bill, which was passed by the Lok Sabha was taken up for a discussion and vote in Rajya Sabha. But after a marathon debate that stretched until midnight, the vote failed to take place.
The Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die late night on December 29 amid uproar created by several MPs, without voting on the Bill.
The anti-graft legislation for which Hazare and his team have fomented a successful mass movement may now be taken up in the budget session of parliament, probably in March.
Meanwhile, Khurshid clarified his position on the reply sought by the Supreme Court in connection with the multi-million dollar 2G spectrum allocation scam.
"Now, Law Minister's opinion is not a privately given opinion. It is a publicly stated opinion as I am talking to you now. If the Law Minister's opinion can interfere with the conduct of free and fair investigation, will the publicity given to Mr. Prashant Bhushan's petition not interfere with free and fir investigation? My understanding of the law, and this is what the Supreme Court has repeated not once but many times over, is that the investigation is to be done by an investigation agency, infact the investigation officer. Nobody can interfere with it, not even the Supreme Court," added Khurshid.
The telecom scam, one of India's biggest graft cases ever, may have cost 39.57 billion dollars in revenue to the public exchequer as per the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). (ANI)
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