Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi described the passage of the Lokpal Bill in Lok Sabha as a “historic and landmark” step to fight corruption.
Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh said it was a remarkable achievement. “It is a historic day in India’s Parliamentary democracy,” he said in a statement.
Making a rare intervention in the House, Lok Sabha, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi said the passage of the Bill was a “big success” but more needed to be done to fight corruption. Supporting the Bill, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj sought to give credit to the “old man” (social activist Anna Hazare), who has been fasting for the passage of the Bill, and the people of the country, who had put pressure. She said there was a clamour to take credit for it.
Earlier, moving for the passage of the Bill, Law Minister Kapil Sibal said discussion had taken place over the past two years both inside and outside the House. However, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav said the law Bill would bring government work to a halt as officials would be afraid of carrying out their duties.
