Guwahati, Apr 6 (ANI): Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Arun Jaitley on Wednesday urged the Congress-led UPA Government to take veteran social activist Anna Hazare's indefinite fast over the demand to involve civil society in formulation of the anti-graft Lokpal (ombudsman) Bill very seriously.
"The Congress party and the UPA government should take this fast seriously and not take it to be merely politically motivated," Jaitley told reporters in Guwahati.
"Fighting corruption is a must and the government should talk to all concerned for bringing up the Lokpal Bill in Parliament. The huge response to Hazare's fast shows that people are getting restless on the corruption issue and the government should respond," he added.
Jaitley, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, further said the BJP has itself launched an anti-corruption campaign today.
Meanwhile, support for 72-year-old Hazare poured in from the members of Ram Sena, a radical Hindu outfit in Jammu, and the Maharashtra BJP.
Ram Sena President Ravi Mahajan said that they supported Hazare's cause and were united with the cause of uprooting corruption from the civil society.
"We support Anna Hazare, who is sitting on fast-unto-death in Delhi. We the members of Shri Ram Sena announce that corruption should be uprooted from the Indian society so that the corrupt people living in the country should not make mistakes and the upcoming generation should know that India has deteriorated due to corruption," said Mahajan.
The BJP leaders in Maharashtra also demanded the implementation of Jan Lokpal Bill on the second day of Hazare's indefinite fast in Delhi.
Senior BJP leader Gopinath Munde said that the corruption of the ruling Congress party had been exposed in open and to uproot the serious issue from the society Jan Lokpal Bill should be accepted.
"We support the fast-unto-death of Anna Hazare. Today, the corruption has come out in open. The Adarsh Housing scam, Commonwealth Games scam and 2G-spectrum scam has come out in open and the demand of Anna Hazare that corruption is a major issue in front of India," said Munde.
"We also realise that the corruption is a major issue in the country and to uproot the corruption Lokpal bill should be accepted," he added.
Union Law and Justice Minister M. Veerappa Moily today said the government is open to public suggestions on the proposed Lokpal Bill and has not turned down the demand for setting up a joint committee.
Moily said the government is 'anxious about introducing the Bill in the next session of Parliament.
"Even on the demand for joint committee, we said we were open. We never closed our mind even on the formation of joint committee...In principle we did not say no," he said, and added that the Prime Minister was open to all suggestions.
"The Standing Committee can always throw it open to discussions and deliberations with everyone. No bill is passed in hide and seek manner. Parliament has the most transparent way of functioning in our country," he added. (ANI)
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