He maintained the proposal of Lokpal goes back to the times of Indira Gandhi but it had not made headway despite several attempts. The Anna Hazare movement crystalised the public mood and the clamour from the public naturally comes to the ears of the politicians, he said.

New Delhi: With the Lokpal Bill securing parliamentary nod, Union Minister Shashi Tharoor today appreciated the main opposition BJP for extending support to the historic legislation.

"...without the cooperation of BJP, it could not have happened..we certainly have to acknowledge that... this is ultimately the entire political class standing up and saying we are prepared to be accountable as the Indian public wants to", he said during an interaction with the media here.

He maintained the proposal of Lokpal goes back to the times of Indira Gandhi but it had not made headway despite several attempts. The Anna Hazare movement crystalised the public mood and the clamour from the public naturally comes to the ears of the politicians, he said.

Stating that his party was very serious about the legislation, he said "if Anna Hazare feels that the objective of his mass movement has been accomplished in this bill, it is wrong for us to sit here and second guess that content."

He gave credit to Indian people for the passage of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament and said the parties were responding to a genuine perception that the public of India wants it.

The Minister said there was an exchange of correspondence between Anna Hazare and Rahul Gandhi and the two of them expressed appreciation for each other role in this affair.

"Beyond that it would be wrong to imply any colusion. Anna Hazare for two years has been making a certain set of demands," he said.

"Congress in response to popular pressure and also on its own convition that we need to have a more accountable system of government has been able to do something which has satisfied Anna Hazare and the result is that the two leaders have exchanged very mutually appreciated letters. We should see that at face value and see that it is a good thing," he added.

He also did not rule out the possibility of bringing private sector under the purview of the Lokpal though not at this stage.

"We would rather see that the law in both its letter and spirit is implemented effectively. At this stage, we have no such intention. But we are open to consideration".

PTI