Hazare threatens to fast again

Comments followed centre's "tricks" on Lokpal Bill

PTI | June 16, 2011



Accusing the UPA of "playing tricks" with the people of the country, Anna Hazare today questioned the rationale behind sending two versions of Lokpal Bill to the Cabinet for consideration.

Hazare also said he would have to restart the protest at Jantar Mantar if a "weak" anti-corruption legislation is cleared by the government, which he alleged was going back on its promises.

A day after the "deadlocked" meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill, the Gandhian said, "If you want to have two drafts, then what was the need for setting up a joint committee?

"They (government) have wasted our time. We had our draft ready earlier and they too had theirs. Then why did they not bring this to the Cabinet earlier. The government is playing tricks," Hazare alleged.

After the government and civil society failed to achieve any common ground at the sixth meeting yesterday, it was decided to forward two versions of the Bill to the Cabinet for its consideration.

While the government maintained that a single draft along with a note on issues of divergence will be forwarded to the Cabinet, the civil society side insisted that the Council of Ministers should deliberate on two draft Bills.

Hazare alleged that the government did not have the "will" to enact a strong Lokpal Bill which has provisions to send corrupt people to jail.

"What is the point of according sanction to a weak bill? If a weak bill is passed, then we will have to protest.

If it is a weak bill, then there is no gain for the people," he said.

"We are absolutely open and I think the so-called civil society members who have assumed the responsibility of the country's entire civil society have to understand this is a Parliamentary democracy," Digvijay Singh said.

"There is a Constitution, a Parliament which frames the law and rules and which is accountable to people. So they should understand the nuances on this."

Noting that there are eminent people in the Joint Committee to draft the bill, he said that the civil society members should not say that "either the Government is with them or against them.

"This kind of attitude will not help," Singh said.

The Congress leader also dismissed BJP chief Nitin Gadkari's barbs at Sonia Gandhi on the issue of fighting corruption saying "Gadkari is a person, who need not be responded to".


Related story

No 2 drafts on Lokpal Bill: Union Law Minister Moily

Government on Thursday ruled out sending two drafts of Lokpal Bill to the Union Cabinet in the wake of strong differences with the civil society which it accused of "obstructing" the fight against corruption.

Addressing a press conference here, Law Minister Veerappa Moily, who is also the convener of the joint Lokpal drafting committee, said if the representatives from both the sides fail to iron out differences during the next meeting on June 20, then their respective views would be sent to the Cabinet.

"But there will be no two drafts," he said, contradicting civil society representative Arvind Kejriwal's statement yesterday that two separate drafts -- one prepared by the Government representatives and the other by civil society members -- would be sent to the Cabinet.

Accusing the civil society representatives of "changing their demands", Moily said "it will not help. We have to confine ourselves to the mandate of a joint drafting committee."

He said the government has agreed to 34 out of 40 principles laid down by the civil society for a strong Lokpal Bill.

Moily also said that there is no final word yet on the inclusion of the Prime Minister in the anti-corruption legislation.

The Minister said while the UPA was committed to storm out corruption, BJP and members of the civil society were trying to obstruct its effort.

"My intention is not to hurt sentiments of people including both from the civil society and the BJP. They are obstructing UPA's war against corruption," he said.

Moily said claims of some members of the civil society of differences in large areas "falls flat on ground as out of 40 principles laid down by the civil society, we have convergence on 34."

He said the Joint Drafting Committee has been mandated with preparing a legislation and not amending the Constitution.

"We had asked the members (of the civil society) whether they wanted to amend the Constitution. They said they wanted a legislation...only one member supported a constitutional amendment," Moily said.

He claimed that the committee cannot suggest issues like inclusion of judiciary, conduct of Members of Parliament inside Parliament and summary dismissal of government servants which entailed constitutional amendments.

These issues, and the inclusion of the Prime Minister under the ambit of Lokpal are the key issues on which the government and the civil society continue to have differences.

To a question on the threat of Gandhian Anna Hazare to go on a fast again, Moily said: "Nobody can prevent anybody in a democratic country to go on a fast. But for what?

"For government having agreed to form a joint committee (on Lokpal), government having agreed to having a dialogue (with the civil society). That means he appears to be predetermined to go on a fast despite this...That is not democratic reflection on democratic expression on the part of the citizen of this country."

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