Nationwide protests if Cong fails to pass Lokpal Bill: Bedi

Allahabad (UP), Nov 18: Team Anna member Kiran Bedi today said the onus of getting the Lokpal bill passed in the Winter Session of Parliament lies with the Congress, failing which there will be nationwide "Ramlila Maidan-like protests".

She said Team Anna has "nothing against the Congress per se but firmly believe that the onus for getting a legislation passed lay on the party in power". Failure to pass the Lokpal bill in the Winter Session of the Parliament by the Congress "would trigger Ramlila Maidan- like protests in more than 300 cities across the country", Bedi told reporters here.

"Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi have promised to the nation that the Lokpal Bill will be passed in the upcoming Parliament session...We are watching the situation carefully and, for now, hoping that they would keep their word," she said.

However, she said, "If the bill is not introduced in the Parliament or it is brought without being given much teeth, the country would witness agitations on a much larger scale." Bedi was here to attend a workshop organised by Team Anna to impart training to citizens for fighting against corruption.

PTI