Congress puts Lokpal ball in Opposition's court

Launching a verbal fusillade against the opposing political parties over the Lokpal bill, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari today said that it is the test of the Opposition’s intent whether they will allow a progressive piece of legislation to go through in the Rajya Sabha. “We do hope that while sense will prevail, wisdom will prevail collectively and the (Lokpal) bill under discussion will be allowed to go through. We can quibble whether a bill is strong or weak later,” Tewari said. [caption id=“attachment_168392” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Blame it on others. Image courtesy ibnlive”] [/caption] “Any legislation is as strong or weak as the will of those who operationalise it. Parliament is always free for discussion if something is not fine with it,” he said. In a veiled offensive against the principal opposition—Bharatiya Janata Party—the Congress spokesman said, “If the bill is not allowed to go through because a certain thing in your perception may not fulfill certain objectives, which you have in mind, then it raises serious question about your intent.”