Lokpal blame game: Sonia, Rahul target BJP

New Delhi: The defeat of the bill to give constitutional status to Lokpal fuelled a blame game between Congress and BJP today with Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi accusing the opposition party of going back on its commitment on this issue in which its “real face” was exposed. The BJP hit back at the accusation by the Congress leadership, saying the government stood exposed by not being able to mobilise the numbers required for the passage of the Constitutional Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.[caption id=“attachment_167768” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Not us, they did. Reuters”]  [/caption] “We are not here to fulfill Rahul’s dream,” BJP leader in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said. Granting of constitutional status for the anti-corruption ombudsman was mooted by Rahul, who had said it would be a ‘game changer’. Leading the charge against BJP after the defeat of the bill which came as a huge embarassment to the government, Congress president Sonia Gandhi said BJP had actually committed itself to supporting constitutional status to Lokpal in Parliament’s Standing Committee deliberations. “But yesterday, we saw their real face. The strength we wanted to give to Lokpal Bill, they did not want it and voted against it,” Gandhi told reporters. Sharing Sonia’s sentiments, Rahul targeted LK Advani and Swaraj for the UPA debacle in the Lok Sabha. “There was a lot of rhetoric by BJP for a strong Lokpal. But they did not press the button( for supporting the Constitutional amendment bill),” Rahul said, adding " They(BJP MPs) were told by Sushma, Advani not to press the button. BJP opposed a strong Lokpal in Lok Sabha." “The BJP people gave big speeches outside Parliament, but when it came to bill in the house, they did not press the button,” Rahul said while addressing a public meeting at Sisaya in Dharaura assembly constituency in Uttar Pradesh. Arun Jaitley, BJP leader in the Rajya Sabha, said granting constitutional status to Lokpal is of “no use’ since the anti-corruption legislation was a “weak law.” Refuting the Congress’ charge that BJP has betrayed people on Lokpal, another BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu made a counter-charge saying it is the ruling party which betrayed the people.