Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh has favoured inclusion of the Prime Minister's office and the higher judiciary under the ambit of the Lokpal.
“My view is that the Prime Minister, the judiciary, non-governmental organisations and industrial houses should also be brought under the ambit of the Lokpal. But there should be a system to ensure that the Lokpal does not misuse its powers,” he told journalists at his hometown of Raghogarh on Saturday.
“When I was the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, I brought the office of Chief Minister under the purview of the Lokayukta [ombudsman],” he said.
However, in an apparent reference to civil rights activists like Anna Hazare, Mr. Singh said “exerting of pressure” on the government by a few people was not right in a democratic set-up. Mr. Hazare, he said, should take part in the meetings of the committee of Union Ministers and civil society members to draft the Jan Lokpal Bill instead of “speaking against the government.”
Mr. Singh saw no difference between the protests by Mr. Hazare and yoga guru Ramdev. “The RSS has taken the help of both of them to divert the people's attention after its name was linked to Hindu terrorism.”
The UPA government was serious about tackling the issues of corruption and black money. “Agreements have been signed with 23 foreign countries to bring back black money from abroad.”
Attacks Ramdev
Continuing his tirade against Baba Ramdev, Mr. Singh has asked the yoga guru to name the person who had secretly donated him a helicopter. He also accused Ramdev of turning black money received as donations into white.
“Baba, who is demanding that the names of the people with black money be made public, should name the person who secretly donated him a helicopter,” Mr. Singh told journalists at his hometown of Raghogarh on Saturday.
“Baba is bringing the secret donations [black money] under the tax-free category, making it white, and accumulating a huge capital,” Mr. Singh alleged. “It is against the Prevention of Money Laundering Act,” he said, demanding an inquiry.
