A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took the Lokpal war to the President, Congress has hit back saying BJP first needs to weed out corruption from within. Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter that instead of sending a petition on the Lokpal Bill to the President, the BJP should create an internal Lokpal to screen and admit only corrupt applicants like Babu Singh Kushwaha.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>BJP need not petition President on Lokpal; instead, should create internal Lokpal to screen and admit only corrupt applicants like Kushwaha</p>— Abhishek Singhvi (@DrAMSinghvi) <a href="https://twitter.com/DrAMSinghvi/status/155108329973223424" data-datetime="2012-01-06T02:08:02+00:00">January 6, 2012</a></blockquote>
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Mr Singhvi's tweet comes at a time when the BJP is divided over the induction of tainted BSP minister Babu Singh Kushwaha. Mr Kushwaha was taken into the BJP fold after being sacked by Uttar Pradesh Chief minister Mayawati.
Senior leaders of the BJP walked to the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday to meet President Pratibha Patil to formally complain about the government's failure to put the anti-
corruption Lokpal Bill to vote in the Rajya Sabha on December 29. L K Advani, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj were among those who participated in the march.
The BJP is confronting accusations of double-speak on corruption - not just from a belligerent Congress but from some of its own members. While it has been attacking the government for being soft on corruption, this week, the BJP welcomed into its fold Mr Kushwaha, who is being investigated for mega-corruption.
As a minister in the Mayawati government, Mr Kushwaha supervised the Family Welfare Department. But on his watch, three senior doctors who worked for the department died- two of them were killed, one died in jail. Their deaths were allegedly linked to deep-rooted graft. Medical officers and bureaucrats were allegedly handing inflated contracts to suppliers of medicines and equipment. Crores ear-marked for the National Rural Health Mission went missing.
Raids were conducted by the CBI on Mr Kushwaha's Lucknow property on Wednesday.