New Delhi: Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that it is clear now that what happened in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday night was scripted outside.
"It's a conspiracy against the people. Ruling party has a control over Parliamentary procedures. It has misused the procedures, ensured that the voting doesn't happen," Kejriwal said.
"Lokpal bill passed in Lok Sabha was a very weak bill. When it was presented in Lok Sabha, 55 amendments were given by opposition parties. There were some good suggestions among those. All of them were defeated, since the government had majority," he added.
Kejriwal said, "Government does not have majority in Rajya Sabha. 187 amendments were given. Amendments on CBI and selection and remove of Lokpal were among those. Had there been voting, at least these two could have got passed. At least a somewhat good lokpal bill could have been passed."
Prashant Bhushan said, "Now our agitation is not only against corruption or for Lokpal, it will now be to save democracy."
The Lokpal Bill failed to get Parliament's nod when the Rajya Sabha was adjourned sine die abruptly on Thursday amid high drama with the Opposition accusing the government of running away from a vote because it was in a minority.
The problems of the ruling coalition, which has 93 members in the 243-member Upper House, grew after one of its constituents Trinamool Congress (6) and outside supporters BSP (18), SP (6) and RJD (4) made it clear that they will vote against the Bill.
Team Anna sought to tear into Government on the Lokpal Bill alleging that it engineered the high drama in Rajya Sabha as it did not have the intention to set up a strong anti-corruption ombudsman.
Putting the blame squarely on government, Team Anna contended that Government could have passed the bill if it had accepted the three amendments - independence of CBI, selection and removal process and delinking Lokayukta - on which opposition was in agreement.
They chose not to attack opposition on its insistence that Lokayukta in states should not be brought through the Bill, though it is one of their key demands, but insisted that its passage after accepting opposition amendments would have been the first step towards setting up a strong Lokpal.
"The way the voting in Rajya Sabha was prevented shows that Government was committing fraud after fraud. They say they want to bring a strong Lokpal but they don't have the intention," Kejriwal said.
He said the Bill presented in the House was not only weak but also "dangerous" as the ombudsman was fully under the control of government.
In Lok Sabha, he said, 55 amendments were moved and all of them were not uselss. There were good amendments like the one demanding independence for CBI but all of them were defeated by the government "wrongly using its majority", he said.
Noting that the entire opposition was in agreement with three amendments, Kejriwal said if there was voting, it would have been carried out as two of them - on CBI and selection and removal process - were critical.
"It would have been the beginning of a strong Lokpal," he said while another Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan said, "now the fight is for to save democracy."
(With additional inputs from PTI)
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