Govt deliberately delaying passage of Lokpal Bill: Team Anna

Accusing the Government of "hoodwinking" the country by delaying the passage of a strong Lokpal Bill, Team Anna today said it would be a "great betrayal" if the the anti-graft law is not cleared in the ongoing budget session of Parliament and threatened to launch a nation-wide protest.

Accusing the Government of "hoodwinking" the country by delaying the passage of a strong Lokpal Bill, Team Anna on Sunday said it would be a "great betrayal" if the the anti-graft law is not cleared in the ongoing budget session of Parliament and threatened to launch a nation-wide protest.

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Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the government was "purposely" delaying passage of the Lokpal Bill.

"If the bill is passed, they know that their officials will be in trouble...If the Lokpal Bill is not passed during the ongoing Parliament session it would be the greatest betrayal on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's part," he told reporters.

He said they will be forced to launch a a nation-wide protest again if the Bill is not passed in this session.

There is uncertainty over when the amended Bill will be brought before the Rajya Sabha though sources had earlier indicated that this may be done by Tuesday, the last day of the Budget session.

Another Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan said the government is afraid of passing the bill.

"They know that they can win elections. But they also know that if this bill is passed, many of them in power will be in jail. So they won't allow its passage," he said.