Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee taunted senior BJP leader L.K. Advani over his newfound commitment to the Lokpal Bill and his attacks on the UPA, and asked why he had not got it passed when the NDA was in power.
“He was home minister then... why didn’t the NDA pass the bill?” asked Mr Mukherjee, referring to Mr Advani’s demand that it be enacted in the Monsoon Session. “If his party cooperates, we can do it,” Mr Mukherjee added. “The UPA is ready if the principal Opposition party is ready to support it. If that happens, we won’t send it to the standing committee. But his MPs have to cooperate in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.”
On Baba Ramdev’s opposition to the inclusion of both Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan in the drafting committee, Mr Mukherjee said the government had no role. “The names were proposed by Anna Hazare,” he said.