Accusing the BJP-led government of "hypocrisy" and "doublespeak" on Lokpal appointment, the Congress today said the NDA is dragging its feet on the issue as it does not want accountability.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the present government is not appointing the Lokpal on the basis of "frivolous, flimsy and trivialised excuses" even while the act is in place since January 2014.
He also accused the government of lack of sincerity on the issue.
"The bill is there for 36 months. I want to ask you and I want you to ask anybody whether the small little finger been wagged to operationalise, to implement the Lokpal in any which way. The government does not want Lokpal because it does not want accountability," he told reporters.
"This is a history which must be remembered because these are deliberate hypocrisies, these are deliberate double speaks. These are lack of sincerity. This is fooling the public," Singhvi also said.
The Congress leader said this is being done for three long years in Delhi, what Narendra Modi did for 12 long years in Gujarat by not appointing a Lokayukta there.
"Why do you want the Lokpal to be a dead letter? Do not allow the Lokpal to become a dead letter," he said.
He said the President gave his assent to the bill on January 16, 2014, and even though the act is in place for the last 36 months, the government has not taken further action.
Singhvi said this is something that could have happened in a few moments by way of an amendment in the Lok Sabha, as has been done in other cases.
He said the government has stated that there are issues and it is waiting to sort out the issue of Leader of Opposition (LOP) in the Lok Sabha and this was stated to be the reason by Minister of State Jitendra Singh.
The Congress leader claimed Gujarat from where the Prime Minister hails has had no Lokayukta since 2003 with appointments blocked by the state BJP government.
"What Mr Modi perfected in Gujarat is what he is implementing in Delhi," Singhvi said.
"The NDA government has not moved an inch for three years to amend one word 'single largest' from 'LoP' deliberately because they do not want the Lokpal," he said.
Singhvi said there are three things in the world that deserve no mercy - hypocrisy, fraud and tyranny - and "On two counts, this government and then Opposition, on Lokpal, do qualify".
He used preachers like Robertson and also Pluto to attack the NDA government for not being serious and for hypocrisy.
He said they have brought in an amendment which was passed by both the Houses in July 2016 adding a clause about disclosure of assets but the basic point is unless a Committee meets and select the Lokpal, unless the rules are operationalised, the Lokpal is a very nice Act of Parliament for the last three years.
"It is not a full Act of Parliament, you are not appointing the Lokpal. The flimsiest and trivalest of excuses that we have still to designate the single largest party in Lok Sabha as LoP, you are doing it for so many other things.
"Does Mr Modi forget that he kept the CVC and the other posts vacant for nine long months? The posts of CVC and the CIC were kept vacant for nine to ten months," he alleged.
He claimed the UPA government did all the work on Lokpal in 2011 itself.
"It was BJP which delayed and got it referred in the Rajya Sabha to a Select Committee," he said.
A joint Drafting Committee was formed in 2011 and the UPA introduced the Bill in 2011 itself and the Standing Committee submitted its report by end of the year.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
