SC's comment on Lokpal strong indictment against govt.: Cong

The Congress Party on Friday said the Supreme Court's statement on delay in implementation of the Lokpal Act is a strong indictment against the present government, adding that the Centre is not interested in its execution.

Congress Party in-charge P.C. Chacko said the government has miserably failed in implementing the Lokpal.

"It is the small-minded approach of the BJP that they just cannot recognise the opposition leader. The government has completed three years and in these years it has miserably failed in implementing the Lokpal. The SC's comment is a strong indictment against the present government. At least after this, the government will open its eyes," Chacko told ANI.

Another Congress leader and senior lawyer KTS Tulsi opined that the Centre is not interested in Lokpal, which resulted to so much delay.

"This amendment doesn't take ten years. When the appointment of the CBI director was to be made, the change was made overnight. In no time the change was made in the Central Vigilance Commission. It just seems that the government is not interested in Lokpal, that's why all the delay," Tulsi said.

Echoing same sentiments, another Congress leader Tom Vadakkan dubbed the apex court's comment as 'correct'.

"The Supreme Court's comment on Lokpal is very correct. If you do not have an internal mechanism to check corruption, how are you going to fight corruption? It is important therefore, to set up a Lokpal, which can investigate matters of offences committed in terms of exchequers losses," Vadakkan told ANI.

Accusing the BJP-led government of being apathetic to the issue of appointing Lokpal, social activist Anna Hazare yesterday said it is clearly the 'ego' of the government that is not appointing the Act, even after the apex court's direction.

"The Supreme Court had said this before also. But the Center was delaying. It is a disrespecting for the public. They are blaming the opposition. For implementing Lokpal opposition is not needed. This means that the government is not willing to implement Lokpal. The government thinks that that nothing will happen to them so why do they have to think about it," he added.

The apex court earlier yesterday asked the Central Government to implement the Lokpal Act, while saying that there is no justification for holding it in abeyance.

The apex court passed the judgment while hearing a plea filed by an NGO, Common Cause.

It had earlier slammed the Central government for not appointing the Lokpal in an expeditious manner.

Appearing for the NGO, Common Cause, senior apex court lawyer and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan had argued that though the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, received Presidential assent on January 1, 2014, and came into force from January 16, 2014, Lokpal is not being appointed by the Central government deliberately.

Earlier this month, Congress leader K.C. Venugopal filed a privilege notice against Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, accusing him of misguiding on the Lokpal bill that is pending with the standing committee in the Lok Sabha.

Earlier on March 23, the opposition unleashed a stinging attack on the government, over the delay in appointment of the Lokpal, a day after it informed the Supreme Court that the anti-corruption ombudsman cannot be appointed without amending a law.

However, Jaitley intervened and said the required amendment in the law was being considered by the parliamentary standing committee concerned.