Even as the Government brought the office of Prime Minister under the ambit of the proposed Lok Pal bill but left the premier investigating agency CBI effectively out of its purview, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare reacted saying that the bill was meant for saving corrupt politicians.

Speaking to media persons at his native village Ralegan Siddhi near Pune today, Anna said the bill proposes to destroy the anti-corruption mechanism in the country by not giving the jurisdiction of the CBI to the ombudsman.

“Home Minister Chidambaram would be in jail if CBI comes under the Lok Pal,” said Anna taking objections to the limitations of the Lok Pal institution.

Calling the bill a fraud on the nation, Hazare threatened to campaign against the United Progressive Alliance in Uttar Pradesh and four other States going to polls early next year.

While Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal warned that the proposed bill would do more harm than doing good at all, another member Mr Justice Santosh Hegde said the government has been suffering from some sort of ego problem in accepting the suggestions proposed in the Jan Lok Pal bill made by Anna Hazare.

“The CBI probe will look like departmental inquiries if the bill is passed,” said Hegde. (JUBS)