KOLKATA: Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday questioned the way civil society leaders had been carrying on with their movement despite the Prime Minister making it clear that the government was open to dialogue on the Lokpal Bill.
“The Prime Minister and the Home Minister have made the position of the government quite clear in respect of the issue. I have nothing more to add,” Mukherjee told reporters here to a query.
He was asked if there was a divide in the UPA over the Lokpal bill due to the protest by Anna Hazare, whose fast demanding a strong Lokpal bill entered the sixth day on Sunday.
The Prime Minister had said on Saturday that there was a lot of scope for give and take on the Bill and the government was open to discussion and dialogue on the issue. He had also called for a broad national consensus on the issue.
Later, speaking at a function in Howrah, Mukherjee said that the leaders of the civil society movement for a Lokpal Bill have given an impression as if they have become legislators.
Speaking at the Bengal Engineering and Science University in Shibpur in Howrah district, Mukherjee said he had been asked during a programme in Hanoi why the Indian government was giving so much importance to the civil society movement in the country. (PTI)