Jan Lokpal Bill stuck with AAP govt, says BJP
New Delhi, June 8: The BJP MLAs on Friday alleged that a file related to Jan Lokpal Bill has been stuck with the AAP government for the past nine months -- a claim that was not directly countered by the latter.
A strong Jan Lokpal Bill (an anti-corruption Bill) was one of the main planks on which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) fought the election and came to power in Delhi.
Replying to the allegation, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the Central government sat on the Bill for around 21 months and after that they raised the point whether the Delhi Assembly has the power to pass the Bill.
Three Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislators walked out of the House to register protest after their request for a reply on the Bill being allegedly stuck with the AAP government was turned down.
The MLAs then sat on a dharna outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's office in the Assembly, seeking an apology from him on the issue.
In a letter to Kejriwal, Leader of Opposition and BJP MLA Vijender Gupta and MLAs Manjinder Singh Sirsa and Jagdish Pradhan demanded that the file related to the Bill be tabled in the Assembly without any delay.
"You (Kejriwal) knew about all this. Despite this you are intentionally delaying it," the letter read.
Outside Kejriwal's office, Sirsa said: "The Bill is being delayed to save Satyendar Jain. We will fight for Jan Lokpal Bill and implement it. We will also bring down Kejriwal from power and send Satyendar Jain to jail."
The BJP legislators also made available a purported official history of the file related to the Bill, which showed that it was pending with the Delhi government as on Thursday.
The Jan Lokpal Bill was passed by the Delhi Assembly on December 4, 2015.
Sisodia said that on August 23, 2017, the Centre said in a reply that the Central government's department concerned was looking into the Bill.
"However, the technical issue regarding the lack of competence of the Delhi Assembly needs to be further deliberated," the Central government's response said, according to Sisodia.
He said the Bill would have come into effect in a month's time if Delhi was a full state.
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Pakistan completes a 3-0 sweep of ODI series against South Africa
Johannesburg (AP/PTI): Pakistan completed a 3-0 sweep of its ODI series against South Africa, winning the third match by 36 runs under the DLS method.
Opener Saim Ayub hit 101 runs in 94 balls as Pakistan scored 308-9 at the Wanderers in a game reduced to 47 overs by rain. South Africa was all out for 271 in 42 overs in pursuit of a winning target of 308.
Pakistan batted first after losing the toss and was 1-1 when it lost Abdullah Shafique in the first over. The innings took off with Ayub involved in two key stands — 114 runs for the second wicket with Babar Azam (52 in 71), and 93 runs for the third with captain Mohammad Rizwan (53 in 52).
The 22-year-old Ayub, who scored 109 in the first ODI, was caught behind against debutant Corbin Bosch. Ayub hit two sixes and 13 fours. Middle-order batter Salman Agha padded the total with a 33-ball 48.
South Africa pacer Kagiso Rabada took 3-56.
In reply, Heinrich Klaasen top scored for the hosts with 81 runs in 43 balls, and Bosch finished 40 not out. Pakistan spinner Sufiyan Muqeem took 4-52 in eight overs.
Pakistan had already secured the one-day international series, winning the opener by three wickets and the second ODI by 81 runs.
South Africa won the three-match Twenty20 series 2-0. The teams will play two tests, starting Thursday at Centurion.
Pakistan's fifth successive bilateral ODI series win puts it in good stead for the Champions Trophy it will host in February.
