Hazare flays new Lokpal Bill

Kejriwal has little faith in Parliament

PTI | December 23, 2011



Slamming the new Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare on Friday said the government should involve people in lawmaking and invoked Rajiv Gandhi's name to tell the Congress-led dispensation that he had written to all village heads before coming out with the Panchayati Raj Bill.

Hazare questioned as to why the government was drafting the bill alone.

"Why is it so? Why does it not take the advise of the people? People are the masters and they have sent MPs to serve them. So they have to listen to people. Late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi understood this. He wrote to sarpanches in all the 5.5 lakh villages in the country on the 73rd and 74th amendment. You cannot do it on your whims and fancies. Then what is the difference between autocracy and democracy?" he told reporters in Ralegan Siddhi.

Hazare said the new Lokpal Bill was "very weak" and a "wrong one" which will not help in eradicating corruption.

Asked whether he read the bill last night, Hazare said, "leave it" and went to say that the government should involve people in the process of drafting law.

Queried about his proposed fast from next Tuesday, he said if he does not get a venue, he will go to jail and fast.

"They will keep creating hurdles. In August, they did not give me a venue till last minute. I had to fast in jail...this time also, if they don't give me venue, I will go to jail," he said.

Taking a dig at MPs, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday said he has little faith in parliament after seeing the debate over Lokpal Bill in lok sabha.

"They say (MPs) 'have faith in parliament'. My mother says 'have faith in Lord Shiva'. I now tend to agree more with my mother," Kejriwal tweeted.

He said he watched the debate in parliament on Thursday during the introduction of Lokpal "with great pain".

"Is this parliamentary democracy? Can it ever deliver India out of poverty, corruption and illiteracy? Is this parliament really supreme? Are we to treat Lalu (Prasad), Mulayam (Singh Yadav), (Kapil) Sibal, P Chidambaram, and A Raja supreme? Will they ever allow strong anti-corruption law?" he said.

His remarks came as MPs, including RJD chief Lalu Prasad, attacked Team Anna and said government should not move in haste to pass the Lokpal Bill.

On Thursday, actor Anupam Kher had tweeted, "They have never been and they will never be serious about Lokpal. Heard Lalu Yadav. And they want to me to respect parliamentarians."

Comments

 

Other News

Who checks the books?

I read about the news about the Coimbatore library over coffee this morning. On the face of it, the headline was about a political ‘war’ between the DMK and TVK. But what stayed with me was something much more important than the blame game behind what had transpired. A writer walking through

Development paradox: Falling poverty miracle and an inequality problem

India’s reduction in poverty over the past decade is a development achievement of considerable significance. The World Bank’s April 2026 ‘India Development Update’ estimates that the share of Indians living below the international extreme-poverty line of $3.00 per person per day i

In Arunachal, a river we call mother

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang is not just a river. For many of us, especially the Adi people, it is part of our family. Our grandparents fished in it. Children learned to swim in it. Our farms drink from it. When someone says a huge dam will be built on it, we do not hear the word "project".

A new retelling of the Mahabharata delves into key moments

In a time when every decision carries consequences and questions of ambition, power, loyalty, identity and moral choice continue to shape our lives, Dr. Arun Krishnan’s new book, ‘Mahakshana’ (Penguin India) offers a strikingly relevant retelling of the Mahabharata.  

Cabinet approves viability gap funding to develop grid-scale energy storage systems

The Union Cabinet, chaired by PM Narendra Modi, has approved the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme for Development of Grid-Scale Energy Storage Systems, with a total financial support of Rs.14,500 crore for the period FY 2026-27 to FY 2030-31. The scheme aims to support the development o

Cabinet creates a pathway to absorb Agniveers in Defence Forces

An objective assessment in terms of organisational requirements and operational efficiency has brought out the outstanding performance of Agniveers in terms of skills, motivation levels, physical fitness and technological prowess. As envisaged earlier, based on merit, 25% of Agniveers will be offered reg

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter