BJP does not support Lokpal Bill unconditionally: Shinde

Bangalore – Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said on Saturday he did not think the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) unconditionally supported the Lokpal Bill as they never made a statement on it.

“I do not think that BJP is willing to support the Lokpal Bill unconditionally as they never made an official statement whereas the spokesperson of the Congress party made it very clear that we did,’ said Shinde.

AAP is a party that wants a clean government and that is why they want this bill to be passed and Congress will support anything that calls for a clean government and is against corruption,” he said.

“We will make sure that the bill is passed,” he added.

The demand for a Lokpal Bill was seen as a revolutionary step in the anti-graft movement, which in 2011 not only drew tens of thousands of Indians united against corruption onto the streets, but also stopped parliamentary proceedings and dominated the headlines for days on end.

But 18 months on, India Against Corruption (IAC) – a popular movement led by a group of the country’s prominent social activists – has split due to the decision by some members to move from activism into politics.

The IAC movement, launched in December 2010, marked the first time in India that both the poor and the middle classes were united against corruption in such large numbers.

The proposed bill envisages the setting up of a national anti-corruption watchdog to check financial mismanagement and corrupt practices that have deeply pervaded several democratic and civic institutions of India.