Sonia signal to Anna: Look within… why ‘hue and cry’, we will bring Lokpal

In an apparent attack on Team Anna, Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi today said that corruption cannot be eradicated by mere slogans, and those creating a “hue and cry” should look within.

Sonia was forced to cancel her scheduled rally at Gauchar Chamoli (Uttarakhand) because of “a viral fever” today and in her speech read out at the venue, she underlined that her government was committed to a Lokpal Bill.

She said that it was the National Advisory Council (NAC) under her that began discussions on the Lokpal. “The Prime Minister and my party have repeatedly said that we are in favour of an effective and strong Lokpal Bill. The Bill will be presented in Parliament and we will implement it. Then what is the meaning of making so much of hue and cry?

“Corruption can not be eradicated by merely making speeches, by pointing a finger at others. Everyone needs to look within,” Sonia said. “You cannot eradicate corruption like this, where one thinks corruption by him and his associates are a holy affair while corruption by others amounts to corruption. This is what is happening these days.”

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri protested against the fact that the BJP state government was not involved in the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the Rishikesh-Karanprayag rail project.