Parties joined to defeat Lokpal legislation: Santosh Hegde

N Santosh Hegde, former lokaukta of Karnataka and a member of Anna Hazare's team, has blamed all political parties for the Lokpal debacle in the Rajya Sabha.

Hegde said the non-passage of the Lokpal bill was a fraud on the people plotted by all political parties, both ruling and opposition.

Hegde, a former judge of the Supreme Court, said all parties stood to gain with the non-passage of the bill while the public lost.

The congress can claim that it introduced the bill while the opposition can claim to have fought a weak and incomplete legislation. The final winners are politicians and political parties.

He said the divergent views taken by different political parties were deliberate in order that they can suggest amendments and tear off the bill.

"This (Parliament) is the institution they call supreme institution in law making," Hegde lamented.

Hegde said had at least a weak bill been passed, it could have been fortified in the coming years.

Any future of a Lokpal now will depend on the outcome of the assembly elections in five states, he said. However, he said the momentum created for a strong Lokpal will not be lost with any number of elections or legislative frauds.