Jan Lokpal Bill: Cong preparing ground for AAP-Centre showdown?

After a series of half-hearted attacks on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, the Congress party has for the first time raised the bogey of not supporting the government if it does not get the Lieutenant Governor’s approval for the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill before introducing in the Assembly. The Congress party is providing outside support to AAP’s minority government. [caption id=“attachment_1375889” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Supporters of social activist Anna Hazare burning the copies of the government’s version of the Lokpal bill during a protest at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. PTI imaeg[/caption] The Delhi Government, which has called for a four-day special assembly session to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill, the final draft of which was cleared by the Cabinet on Monday, has decided to give the go-by to the practice of first getting the draft bill okayed by LG (who is the Centre’s representative in the state) before it is introduced in the Assembly. The Delhi government has said that the Jan Lokpal bill will be directly introduced in the Assembly and not sent to the Centre for its approval. The Congress party is now up in arms vowing not to support any bill that is ‘illegal’. Introducing a bill in the Assembly without the permission of the LG, says Congress, is a violation of Transaction of Business rules. Not one to miss an opportunity to take the moral high ground, AAP’s response to the Congress party’s threat of not supporting the bill has been along expected lines: “What can be expected from a party that has delayed bringing Lokpal for 40 years,” said Education Minister Manish Sisodia when asked about the Congress decision not to support the bill. Any opposition to the Jan Lokpal Bill is bound to be exploited by AAP to its political advantage. For a party that grew out of an anti-corruption movement, there couldn’t be a more fitting issue over which to be brought down. And so while Congress may use the ‘illegal’ procedure argument for not supporting the bill, it knows that AAP would gladly play the martyr and use every opportunity to blame the Congress for bill not going through. At the same, the party doesn’t want to be rolling out the red carpet for the AAP government to turn the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill into a massive public event ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. “We are not against the Lokpal bill. We are not saying that we don’t support the bill. But the manner in which the bill is being brought, it looks as if Kejriwal does not want to pass the bill, but only fool the people into thinking that he does. If the bill is brought illegally, how can it be passed,” said a Congress MLA. Refusing to be drawn into questions on the political implications of such a move, the MLA said, “They cannot introduce the bill. Whether the government falls or stays, the Congress is not worried. We will not do illegal things.” But even as the Congress appears to digging in its heels over the Jan Lokpal Bill, it is already preparing to shift the problem elsewhere by forcing the Centre to take on the Delhi government over its refusal to gets the LG’s nod before introducing the bill in the Assembly. Choosing to lay the problem at the LG’s door, like it did during the Somnath Bharti controversy, when it did not make any demands on government directly but asked the LG to ensure that law took its course, the Delhi Congress has said that it “will submit a memorandum to the LG on the unconstitutional Jan Lokpal Bill, which has been brought to create a political drama.” The Congress party chief Arvinder Singh Lovely told reporters on Tuesday said he “would request the governor to stop the AAP government from introducing the bill.” Ever ready for a confrontation, the AAP government has so far shown no signs of backing down from its stand of sending the bill directly to the Assembly. Having already taken on the Centre over the Delhi Police and had its way, the Kejriwal-led government seems to be preparing for yet another show-down with the Centre.