New Delhi, Oct 25: Amid sparring between Team Anna and Congress on the Lokpal issue, Law Minister Salman Khurshid today said there should be no encouragement for discord between civil society and government.
“Things will be said and people would think that they should say something. I don't think we should engage in a dialogue of this kind through the media,” Khurshid said.
“Please don't try to create greater difference between civil society and the government...Whoever tries to create difference between civil society and the government is not working in the interest of the society,” he said.
Noting that the two sides have enough channels for direct communication, he said, “I am sure we have a lot of channels by which we can talk directly. I don't think we should encourage discord and distance between civil society and government.”
AICC General Secretary Digvijay Singh had yesterday ridiculed Kiran Bedi's statement that money she had overcharged from NGOs and other hosts would be returned, saying that if corrupt people give back money, this yardstick too should absolve them of their crimes.
Anna Hazare had yesterday defended Bedi from the allegations of “air travel corruption” and accused a “gang of four” in the government of being behind the campaign against his team.
Meanwhile, with the BJP accusing the prosecution of targeting its whistle-blowers in the cash-for-vote scam, Khurshid today said the Opposition party should express its views in courts only.
“Anything BJP feels, they should say it in courts, why should they say it outside the courts,” he told reporters. Khurshid was asked to comment on a statement by BJP that actual whistle-blowers in the case are still in jail, while those who paid money are being released. “I don't want a running commentary on what courts are doing, outside the court,” he said.
Following the approval of former SP leader Amar Singh's bail application, BJP had accused the prosecution of targeting the whistle-blowers in the scam instead of the culprits.
Singh, who is undergoing treatment for his kidney ailment, was granted bail by the Delhi High Court yesterday on humanitarian grounds.
