Sunday ET: BJP blocking six anti-corruption bills: Rahul Gandhi

BELGAUM: Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP on Saturday of blocking the passage of six anti-graft bills by parliament, which form part of the government’s anti-corruption framework.

“Who is standing against those bills? We want to pass them. We are being stopped in Parliament. Who is stopping it? BJP is stopping it. They don’t allow functioning of Parliament,” Gandhi, who has been making a strong pitch for the six legislations, said at a public rally.

“Today in parliament six anti-graft bills are pending. The bills which are of help to you. The bills that give power to you,” the Congress Vice-President said as he attacked BJP which has made corruption its main weapon of attack against the UPA government. Gandhi said, “They [BJP] only talk, we bring progress.” He also told the gathering that it was the Congress which gave power to the people through legislations like RTI.

“Who brought RTI? Who gave powers to your hands? Congress party did it. Whatever was happening behind closed doors is getting known to you because of RTI. Who brought the Lokpal Bill? BJP did not bring it. Congress brought it,” he said.

Pushing for creation of a framework to fight corruption, Gandhi had recently appealed to Opposition parties to support the passage of six bills in the ongoing Parliament session, whose functioning has gone haywire on Telengana and other issues.

“My request is also to the Opposition parties that they should not stop such bills — the bills related to [fighting] corruption and the bill related to the rights of the street vendors. Everybody should join hands to pass these bills,” he had said recently.