Veerappa Moily regrets inviting Arvind Kejriwal to draft Lokpal Bill

NEW DELHI: Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily has regretted inviting Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal in the joint committee to draft ‘the Lokpal Bill’ when he was the law minister and the civil society led by Anna Hazare agitated in the capital for an effective anti-corruption law.

“It is because of that entry, he took advantage and he was trying to build himself. That is my crime. I committed a mistake. I regret inviting a person like him. He should not have been (invited),” Moily told reporters outside the parliament house after they asked for his view on the FIR filed by the Delhi government.

Last week, when Kejriwal was the chief minister of Delhi, has had directed the Anti-Corruption Bureau to file an FIR against Moily, RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani, former Oil Minister Murli Deora, retired Director General of Hydrocarbons VK Sibal and others for favoring Reliance in raising gas prices.

“Better in the best interest of the democracy, talk less of Kejriwal. It is best for everybody not to waste energy on him. India's energy should not be lost on a person like Kejriwal. That is my firm opinion,” he said.