Going a step further than his party, BJP MP Varun Gandhi today said that he would introduce Anna Hazare’s version of the Lokpal Bill — termed Jan Lokpal Bill — as a private member’s Bill in Lok Sabha on Friday.

“Anna may be in jail, but this struggle shall continue. Parliament is a forum to reflect public opinion and effect meaningful change, not a means to shield autocratic and dishonest governance. I intend to table in Parliament, this Friday, as a private member’s bill, the Lokpal Bill as drafted by Anna Hazare. I feel sure it will be supported by every right thinking Indian,” Varun said in a statement on Tuesday. The BJP has been supportive of Hazare’s anti-corruption agitation but does not agree with the many of the proposed provisions in the Bill.

Varun said he was “shocked and shamed” by the arrest of Hazare on Tuesday. “On the morning after the Independence Day, we have woken up to what kind of freedom we, the people of this country, actually have. If Anna’s crime is that he stands against corruption, then this whole country is guilty,” he said.