Congress attacks opposition over Lokpal Bill mess

Attacking the opposition for Rajya Sabha's failure to pass the Lokpal Bill, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal on Friday said the Bill will be taken up for consideration in the Budget Session of Parliament.

"The conduct of the opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party in the Rajya Sabha, showed that they were only interested in not passing the Bill," he told a press conference the night after the House was adjourned sine die abruptly without passing the Bill.

Bansal said the opposition and a party, apparently referring to ally Trinamool Congress, were not willing to play ball. "They would rather see the nation fail than the government succeed," he said.

Denying accusations that the government had planned Thursday night's events in Rajya Sabha, he said, "They (opposition) are guilty of stalling the proceedings as they did not want the bill to be passed."

The minister said the effect of the enormous number of amendments (187 in number) was "confusing" and it was difficult for the government to accept them and to get the Bill passed because it would lead to legal problems.

"It is not that the Bill is dead. The amendments will be taken up in the budget session for consideration," Bansal said.