Hazare team delaying Lokpal Bill: union minister Ashwani Kumar

"It is not the government that is seeking to avoid the (passage of) bill. On the contrary, it is self-proclaimed crusaders against corruption, who had chosen to abstain from the last meeting of the negotiating committee, who are delaying it," Kumar said, talking to reporters here.

"I hope and I expect the negotiating committee will carry forward the discussion so that the nation can have a credible and effective Lokpal bill as soon as possible."

"What has the Ramleela Maidan issue got to do with whether they (Hazare and others) should participate in the Lokpal bill or not?" Kumar asked.

Hazare and others had boycotted the last meeting in view of police's crackdown on Ramdev's followers.

He said that government and UPA leadership would try their best to bring in Lokpal Bill in the monsoon session of Parliament.

Referring to the arrests in the high profile 2G and CWG scams, Kumar said that never before in the history of independent India such decisive and strong measures were taken against corruption-accused.

Corruption was a national evil and could not be the agenda of any single organisation or a party, he said.

The union minister accused opposition BJP of orchestrating recent incidents in New Delhi involving Ramdev's agitation. BJP was trying a  "backdoor entry" into political space of the country, he alleged.