No mistakes in handling Anna protest: govt

Law minister Salman Khurshid defended the government after Hazare ended his fast on sunday

PTI | August 29, 2011



Law minister Salman Khurshid, a key negotiator with Team Anna, on Sunday maintained that government made "no mistakes" in tackling Anna Hazare's 12-day fast but admitted there were "errors of judgement".

Describing the situation arising out of Hazare's stir for a strong Lokpal bill as complex, very sensitive and an unique experience for the government, Khurshid also rejected suggestions that senior ministers P Chidamabram and Kapil Sibal were "discredited" for their handling of the crisis and had to be withdrawn from negotiations.

"Errors of judgement have been made, errors of judgement are made whenever you are involved in a difficult situation. Errors of judgement are not mistakes", Khurshid told CNN-IBN on Karan Thapar's "Devil's Advocate" programme.

"We made no mistakes. What we did may not have turned out to be the way it should. May be our calculation and anticipation turned out to be not what we thought it to be.

But I am not prepared to admit we made mistakes," said Khurshid, who was part of Government's negotiating team headed by union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.

Defending the way the government handled the Hazare agitation, he said, "It is courage of conviction. It is faith in yourselves. We are not pushovers. We might have made errors of judgment. We may have lost ground somewhere but we are determined to get that ground back."

Asked whether he is saying that the government has made no mistakes, a combative Khurshid said, "The outcome of what you did depends on how you define a mistake. A mistake is to do something that you should not be doing."

To repeated queries whether government committed mistakes in tackling the situation, he said, "Ask me 100 times, my answer will be the same."

He further said, "It is very sensitive, complex situation that has just unfolded into a good resolution."

"It is faith and confidence and I believe we do not want the government to be kicked around...It is the best possible resolution by parliament," he added.

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