Special session days away, BJP in fix over backing Jan Lokpal, Swaraj Bills

Party sources said several BJP leaders were expecting the Aam Aadmi Party government to fall after the Lok Sabha elections. But with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal threatening to resign if the Bills are not passed in the Assembly, the BJP now feels letting the government continue seems to be the best bet for the party right now.

Party MLAs had demanded a clear stand on the Swaraj and Jan Lokpal Bills after Leader of Opposition Harsh Vardhan had tweeted that the BJP would not let the government run away from its responsibilities. But now, the MLAs are reluctant to take a clear stand on whether to support the Bills.

“We are facing a dilemma over whether to support the Bills. Vardhan has made it clear that the Jan Lokpal Bill can be supported if it is brought through proper channels and indications are that the AAP government is unlikely to follow proper procedure. So we are in a fix. If we don’t support the Bills, it will give a wrong message to voters on our stand against corruption. And being in the Opposition, we can’t allow the government to work in an unconstitutional manner,” a senior BJP leader said.

Another leader said the party would like the Congress to pull the plug on the AAP. According to him, the BJP should wait for the stand of the Congress on the issue. “There is a controversy over the way the AAP is planning to introduce the Bills,” the leader said.

Harsh Vardhan said, “We have not received any copy or draft of the Bill and we cannot take any stand on it without discussing it with the MLAs. We are not opposed to the Jan Lokpal, per se. We are committed to fight corruption.”

He said, “As far as the Swaraj Bill is concerned, we have not taken any decision on it but we are not against the basic notion of Swaraj either. I have to read it before I take a stand on the Bill. To add to this, we have not been officially apprised of the session. If the Bill will is in favour of the people and we feel it will help society, we will support it.”