Bhushan slams Delhi government's Lokpal bill

Terming the anti-graft Jan Lokpal bill drafted by the Arvind Kejriwal government a watered-down version of the original legislation, expelled AAP leader Prashant Bhushan on Saturday denounced it as a farce and a fraud on the people.

The senior lawyer argued that by giving Jan Lokpal the power to probe cases of corruption against central government employees, the Aam Aadmi Party government wanted to provoke confrontation.

This clause will never be approved by the central government and the bill will never get passed, he said.

"Kejriwal never had the intention to form a strong Lokpal body," said Bhushan, who claimed that he had the copy of the bill which is slated to be tabled in the assembly on Monday.

The AAP is an offshoot of the anti-graft movement in 2011 launched by social activist Anna Hazare who had demanded an ombudsman through the Jan Lokpal bill. The bill was drafted by Kejriwal, then an activist, Bhushan and others.

Noting that they had said that Lokpal could be removed only if the Supreme Court held him guilty after a complaint against him, Bhushan said this bill holds that he could be removed by a resolution passed by two-thirds of the assembly members.

"Delhi government's Jan Lokpal Bill is different from what was drafted during the Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement. The new version says that appointment and removal of members will be done by the state government whereas we demanded that it should be done through an independent ombudsman," he added.

However, AAP leader Kumar Vishwas said that Jan Lokpal was akin to the one demanded by Hazare.

"We are committed to the Lokpal exactly what was drafted and committed at Ramlila Maidan; not even a comma/ full stop changed. If any scope of betterment is there, it will be thoroughly discussed in the house by the elected representatives of Delhi" he tweeted.