New Delhi, Aug 24: Senior Congress leader Satyavrat Chaturvedi today admitted that the UPA was moving away from ground realities and the government has committed “mistakes” on demand for JPC in 2G scam and inclusion of the Prime Minister within the Lokpal's purview.
“We have also committed mistakes. First we said no to the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) to probe the 2G scam and a whole (winter) session was wasted,” Chaturvedi said, participating in a short duration discussion in the Rajya Sabha on growing incidents of corruption.
He said that after dithering for two months, the Government agreed to the demand for JPC. Likewise, after saying ‘no' initially, now it is heard that the government will also agree to bring the Prime Minister under the Lokpal's ambit.
If the party's arguments were right earlier, then why were they being changed now, he questioned.
He said this indicated that such decisions were “away from ground realities and we have not been able to enhance government's prestige among people.”
Chaturvedi said accepting own faults was a good thing. “It shows that we are ready to change and improve. Problems arise when we stick to our stands,” he said.
Commenting on Anna Hazare's fast, he said the Gandhian did not sit on fast suddenly. It was known for more than a month in advance, he pointed out.
He said the fast could have been avoided if a “joint Parliamentary delegation had gone to Anna Hazare to tell him that on one hand there is Constitution and on the other side is your demand.”
“Then it wouldn't have been Government versus Anna Hazare, it would have been Anna versus Constitution,” he said. PTI
