Parliament will have final word on Lokpal: Advani

BJP leader L K Advani on Sunday made it clear that though Team Anna has a right to voice its differences on various aspects of Lokpal Bill, the final word lies with Parliament on passing laws. "There are no two opinions that it is Parliament which will decide the final Bill, nobody else.... Parliament will now have to decide what form to give to the Lokpal Bill," Advani told reporters in Ahmedabad on Sunday. He emphasised that BJP wanted a strong and effective Lokpal and was willing to extend full cooperation on the matter in Parliament. "From our (BJP and NDA) side, there will be every effort to get the Bill passed. This effort was there even in the joint committee and also in meetings called by the Prime Minister and (Finance Minister) Pranab Mukherjee," he said. He maintained that BJP has clearly stated its view in the all-party meetings on the form the Lokpal Bill should take. Advani claimed Team Anna had discussed the Jan Lokpal Bill with the BJP leadership which in turn had pointed out "three-four" lacunaes in it. "After discussing the Bill with us, they all had even agreed to these changes. I do not know on how many they agree with us and on how many they are still firm," he said. Asked about the allegations against Home minister P Chidambaram on the issue of withdrawal of FIRs against a hotelier, Advani said there are lot many issues that would be coming up now and the parliament would be pursuing them. "It is because the government has to deal with such issues that it has not been able to take decisions (on policy matters)," Advani said. Speaking about his yatra on black money, he said that it was for re-creating self-esteem in the countrymen and not for any other purpose. "It had nothing to do with Advani or the BJP party. Someone once asked me if the Janchetna yatra was to repackage Advani. To which I said that I do not need to repackage myself. I am what I am," Advani said. Advani, who had come here for a Sindhi Conference, expressed concern over the Sindhi language losing its identity and script as it has now become for all practical purpose a spoken langua