Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: The Congress party on Sunday said that it would continue to support the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital, adding that it was ready to back the Jan Lokpal Bill if it was brought with laid down procedures.
The Congress` comment came even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal threatened to quit today if the bill was not passed in the Assembly during a special session.
"Nobody is above the law. The Chief Minister wants to run away from responsibility. He is finding an excuse. It is a shrewd tactic," DPCC chief Arvinder Singh Lovely told PTI here.
“Will fully support Jan Lokpal Bill if it is brought following laid down procedures; will continue to support AAP govt,” he added.
"Congress has always maintained that it will support the Jan Lokpal Bill. Our only request to the AAP government is to follow the rules and respect the Constitution. The CM is not above the Constitution," he said.
The DPCC chief maintained that transaction of business rules for tabling any bill by Delhi government were finalised during the NDA rule in 2002 and they were even laid on the floor of Parliament.
He asserted that any bill having financial implication has to be cleared by the Centre before introduction in the Assembly.
"The Jan Lokpal Bill of Delhi has provisions which will overlap with the central Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, so it is mandatory for the state government to get clearance from the Centre. We will not allow any unconstitutional thing to happen.
"Even Delhi government`s Home,Law and Finance departments have said that the state has to get clearance from the Centre on the issue," Lovely claimed.
DPCC chief spokesperson Mukesh Sharma said Kejriwal will be responsible if BJP comes to power in Delhi in the event of him resigning. "Kejriwal does not want to make Jan Lokpal into an Act, he just wants to run away from responsibility," he said.
“If the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in the Assembly, I have no right to stay as CM,” Kejriwal told a TV channel today.
“Jan Lokpal Bill is more important than staying in government. We will quit if it is not passed,” he added.
Previously, the Bill was opposed by the Congress, whose continued support is essential for the survival of his seven-week-old government, as well as the Opposition BJP.
Bringing the Jan Lokpal bill to contain corruption was a key election promise made to the voters by his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
"To establish Swaraj in the country, CM`s seat can be sacrificed thousand times. I have not come here to become the CM," the AAP supremo told reporters.
"I did not come here to become the chief minister. I have come here to remove corruption from the country,” he said.
"I am ready," he said when asked whether he was ready to quit on the issue of Jan Lokpal and Swaraj Bills.
The Jan Lokpal Bill and Swaraj Bill will be tabled on the floor of the Delhi Assembly on February 13, the chief minister said.
In a House of 70, AAP`s strength has been reduced to 27 including the Speaker after its MLA Vinod Kumar Binny was expelled from the party while the Congress has eight legislators. The BJP has 31 and SAD has 1.
Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry is likely to seek opinion of the law ministry on the Delhi government`s missive for withdrawal of an order requiring proposed bills to be sent to the central government first, official sources.
The AAP government has written to the home ministry seeking withdrawal of its 2002 order which directs the Delhi government to take approval of the ministry before passage of any bill in the assembly, officials said.
With PTI inputs
