We will support Lokpal Bill in Parliament:BJP wants a corruption-free India and we welcome the efforts by him (Anna Hazare) BJP-Apr 9, 2011

We will support Lokpal Bill in Parliament: BJP

PTI | Apr 9, 2011, 09.58pm IST


NEW DELHI: Promising support for the Lokpal Bill in the Monsoon session of Parliament, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari said the party welcomed the campaign against corruption by social activist Anna Hazare.

"We will support that (Lokpal) Bill... BJP wants a corruption-free India and we welcome the efforts by him (Anna Hazare)," Gadkari told a CII seminar here.

Asked whether Hazare had taken the sheen away from the BJP, he said, "I don't feel so. I don't look at it with a political view point. Our party's policy is to appreciate the good work done by any one."

About allegations against Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa that he had favored his relatives in land allotment in the state, Gadkari said plots were given by him as permitted by the law passed by the state Assembly.

On BJP's decision to continue supporting Yeddyurappa as the chief minister, he said, "It is all a matter of perception versus reality. There is a problem of perception against the chief minister due to a campaign in the media against him."

He said the denotification of land and discretionary allotments done by Yeddyurappa were as per existing laws.

"The same discretionary powers were exercised by previous chief ministers HD Kumaraswamy, Dharam Singh and SM Krishna as well. Facts were not properly presented by people in this case," he claimed.

Replying to a question by industrialist Rahul Bajaj regarding the chief minister, Gadkari said the BJP had raised the 2G spectrum and CWG scams on the basis of the reports by CAG and the Supreme Court.

"But there is no such indictment of Yeddyurappa," he said.

The BJP chief said that accusing Yeddyurappa on the basis of political perception and campaign was not correct. "If there is any report from CAG or CVC or courts (against Yeddyurappa), then we will see what action needs to be taken. Otherwise the performance of the BJP government in Karnataka is very good," he said.

Standing by his decision to let Yeddyurappa continue, Gadkari said, "You may or may not agree, it may or may not be correct. It is my decision and I take full responsibility for this."