Kejriwal did not seek my advice on Jan Lokpal Bill: K.N Bhatt

Says he has not seen the Jan Lokpal Bill at all

Former Additional Solicitor General K N Bhatt on Saturday said he had not advised Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on the Jan Lokpal Bill, and that the latter had sought his advice on a different matter.

"Yes Kejriwal had taken my advice, but on a different issue, not on the Jan Lokpal Bill. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had asked for my advice on the rules applicable to the Delhi Government according to the Constitution," said Bhatt.

"I am not accusing them of anything. They had named five people and they might have asked different questions from different solicitors, but as far as I am concerned, they did not ask for my advice on the Jan Lokpal Bill," he said.

"I fact, I have not even had a look at the Jan Lokpal Bill," he added.

Kejriwal on Friday wrote to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung asserting that the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill is not unconstitutional as noted by the Solicitor General of India Mohan Parasaran.

In his letter, he asked the Lieutenant Governor the reason behind seeking the opinion of the Solicitor General on the Bill, and said that it could have been discussed with him.

He further said that the bill was prepared after seeking opinion from every department of the government, and added that presenting the bill in the state legislature is not unconstitutional.

Kejriwal noted that the Constitution allows the Delhi Assembly to legislate on all issues excluding three topics.

He also claimed that the Union Home Ministry's order, instructing that legislation introduced in the Assembly should be first cleared by the Centre, is completely unconstitutional, and asked if every bill requires Centre's consent, then what is the use of holding elections in Delhi.

He further said that the Home Ministry and the Congress would put pressure on the Lieutenant Governor to disallow the Delhi Jan Lokpal to be introduced in the assembly.