Anna's proposals on Jan Lokpal to be discussed in Parliament
New Delhi Bureau(GOOD WISHES TO ANTI-CORRUPTION MOVEMENT...VT)
Kiran Bedi waves the Tricolour during the tenth day of Anna Hazare's fast against corruption at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Thursday.
PTI Kiran Bedi waves the Tricolour during the tenth day of Anna Hazare's fast against corruption at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi on Thursday.
BJP does an about-turn on Jan Lokpal Bill Anna demands debate in Parliament from tomorrow Deshmukh meets Anna; requests him to end fast
In a day of fast-paced developments, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday reached out to the fasting anti-corruption crusader, Anna Hazare, with a new formula to end the logjam over the contours of the proposed Lokpal institution. It was followed by an extraordinary gesture by the Lok Sabha, which joined the appeal of Dr. Singh; Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj associated herself, as did Speaker Meira Kumar, in appealing to the social activist to end his protest.
On the face of it, the response of Mr. Hazare to Dr. Singh's formulation and the call of the Lok Sabha was belligerent. In a spirited address to the gathering on the Ramlila grounds, Mr. Hazare cast doubts on the intentions of the entire political class but kept the door open for Parliament to pave the way for resolution of the crisis.
Replying to a discussion in the Lok Sabha, Dr. Singh mentioned three separate civil society initiatives crafting legislation to tackle the scrounge of corruption, including the Team Anna Jan Lokpal Bill, and said these could be debated by the House. The record of the deliberations should be sent to the Parliamentary Standing Committee that is examining the Lokpal Bill, with a request for its consideration.
Replying to Dr. Singh's proposal, Mr. Hazare told his supporters that the litmus test for Parliament for him to call off his agitation would be in arriving at consensus on his three specific demands — bringing the lower bureaucracy within the ambit of the Lokpal, parallel Lokayuktas at the State levels, and a citizen's charter for time-bound disposal of public grievances.
Close on the heels of Dr. Singh's offer, the ruling establishment got busy on the nitty-gritty of how it could get the Lok Sabha to adopt the suggestion. After consultations with leaders of the Opposition, the government is contemplating introduction of a resolution in the House on Friday for consideration and adoption.
The sense, as Mr. Hazare's fast entered the 10th day, was that the government and the Congress had finally got its political act together. Besides the Parliamentary initiative, the Prime Minister dispatched the former Maharashtra Chief Minister, Vilasrao Deshmukh, as his emissary to communicate his proposal to Mr. Hazare, and he formally brought the response of the social activist.
There were some fireworks earlier in the day at the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP), where some party members expressed their displeasure over the handling of the Anna episode. At the same time, the message from the CPP was that right-wing forces were taking full advantage of the agitation and the government should not withdraw its Bill.
Close on the heels of the CPP, after the Prime Minister “applauded and saluted” Mr. Hazare, Congress spokesperson Manish Tiwari, who incurred the wrath of Team Anna for his charges that Mr. Hazare was “corrupt from tip to toe,” was left with no option but to publicly expressed regrets for the hurt he had caused.
The BJP, on its part, threw its weight behind Mr. Hazare's agitation without committing itself to his Bill. Party president Nitin Gadkari maintained that the provisions of the Jan Lokpal Bill should be the “basis” for a strong legislation.
Keywords: Anna Hazare fast, Government-civil society talks, Team Anna, Jan Lokpal, anti-corruption movement, India Against Corruption, Ramlila Maidan, Monsoon session, Aruna Roy's Lokpal, Lokpal Bill
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