Team Anna disappointed over passage of 'useless' Lokpal Bill

Voicing disappointment over passage of a "useless" Lokpal Bill in Lok Sabha, Team Anna today said it appeared the legislation is headed for a joint session of Parliament as the Rajya Sabha may pass a version different from the one already passed.

Voicing disappointment over passage of a "useless" Lokpal Bill in Lok Sabha, Team Anna on Wednesday said it appeared the legislation is headed for a joint session of Parliament as the Rajya Sabha may pass a version different from the one already passed.

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Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan said the bill passed in Lok Sabha was "useless" as it was not the one people asked for.

"Our protest and fast is on. We will now see what will happen in Rajya Sabha," Bhushan told reporters.

This bill is "very weak" as it has not given any prosecution powers to Lokpal besides keeping CBI out of the ombudsman's ambit, he said.

When asked whether Team Anna will also oppose parties other than Congress, he did not give a direct answer but said they will see the stand taken by the parties and then decide whether to oppose them in electoral campaigns.

Hazare had earlier announced that he will campaign against Congress-led government in the five poll-bound states.

Queried about the low turnout at Ramlila Maidan, he said it was not like that way as some people have projected.

"There were well over 5,000 people yesterday and around 7-8,000 in the afternoon. In Mumbai, according to me, there were 25,000. This is reasonably good. You cannot say that the support for the movement has fallen. People keep telling us that they are supporting us and are still with us," he said.

Yesterday at Ramlila Maidan, the crowd was estimated between 1-2,000 at its peak.

With numbers stacked against government in Rajya Sabha for passage of Lokpal Bill, Kiran Bedi said the legislation appeared headed for a joint session of Parliament as the Upper House may pass a version different from the one passed in Lok Sabha.