Singhvi, in a press meet held here, said that it would be difficult to specify the time frame, “as there are multiple factors involved in the framing of the bill. It is not that the bill should only have teeth but it is also important that it should have in-built provisions that would make it operational. After all it is equally important that a bill should have provisions which would make its operations effective. “And, that is why I am stating it is not just me but nobody can give a rough time-frame estimate. It is no good just parroting that we need a strong bill, but as I say and everybody would want... we need a bill that would have an operational value. And that is what the Parliamentary Committee is trying to work out.”
However, he expressed his surprise as to why “Team Anna keeps on harping the issue. The winter session is going to end on December 22...thus I fail to comprehend as to why every day they keep on issuing threats of indefinite hunger strike.”
On the issues of corruption and black money raised by Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) leader L K Advani, Singhvi slammed his party’s rival, terming him “ a frustrated man with thwarted ambitions who did nothing to get slush funds stashed abroad when in power.”
Singhvi said that BJP is a party, “which has lost its base and that is one of the reasons that they have become so desperate...spreading canard against every political party, especially Congress.”
“Take for example, rumours floating around in the media that UPA is fraught with dissensions over the price rise issue. Let me make it very clear that neither NCP nor any of our allies, say, Trinamool Congresss are contemplating or planning to break the UPA.
“Every alliance has disagreements and it is healthy to have varied views. But BJP which is left with hardly any political support even from its erstwhile NDA partners has become desperate. With future extremely bleak and with a leader still harbouring ambitions, it is not difficult to understand the predicament in which they are trapped.”
The Congress leader, however, throughout the press meet remained evasive on the price rise issue, stating, “ there are extraneous factors to be considered and it is not that we are indifferent to the issue.”
“No government would like to see a rise in prices of essential commodities. We are trying to work out a solution so as to bring down the prices. There are lot of factors to be taken into account. But unfortunately our opposition party BJP does not think like that. They are only interested in trying to provoke a split and create schisms in UPA,” he said.
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