ULTIMATUM: Anti-corruption activists Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi addressing the media after a meeting of their core committee in New Delhi on December 15
He also urged people to agitate in front of the houses of MPs who oppose the Lokpal Bill. He would personally lead demonstrations in front of UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s home, and also before that of her son Rahul Gandhi, Anna said.
The BJP said it supports Anna’s deadline. “We want the bill to be passed with our suggestions,” said the party’s Rajiv Pratap Rudy. “The government seems to be faltering. So if the government fails (to deliver), and Anna decides to sit outside MPs’ homes, we will join him.”
If an effective Lokpal Bill is passed, Anna said, “a rose will be given to the government’s top person” and parliamentarians will be thanked en masse on December 27, the date he has currently reserved for his new fast.
“If the climate is good in Delhi, I’ll fast here, or else in Mumbai,” Anna said.
Earlier in the day, Anna Hazare had said the ongoing winter session of Parliament should be extended to pass the Lokpal Bill and threatened to go on a hunger strike if it is not introduced soon.
His remarks came a day after a consensus eluded political parties on the Lokpal Bill.
The government meanwhile said that though it expects to introduce the bill in Parliament soon, a lot of work remains to be done, mainly because of a lack of consensus among different parties on some parts of the bill. When asked about Anna’s deadline, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal said, “We are not talking to him, whatever he does is his right. But being an honourable citizen of the nation he should understand that Parliament’s job can be done by Parliament only.”
The only point of dispute now among parties seems the relationship between the new Lokpal or ombudsman agency and the premier investigating agency, the CBI. Some parties are reluctant to allow the Lokpal complete control over the CBI. The agency wants its investigative independence to be protected.
Replying to questions on the all-party meeting, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said almost all parties were unanimous on CBI getting autonomy.
The Cabinet will meet to discuss amendments to the Lokpal Bill, based on the different points of view expressed at a meeting of all parties that was chaired by the PM. The government is reportedly leaning towards asking the CBI to report to the Lokpal only for the cases of corruption that it investigates for the ombudsman.
The government is also likely to give in to the demand by Team Anna and the Opposition for the CBI director to be appointed independently. The PM, Leader of the Opposition and the head of the Lokpal may form the selection committee.
On December 11, Anna undertook a one-day token fast, where he invited senior leaders of political parties to debate the contentious points of the Lokpal Bill. Most Opposition were represented. They assured Anna that they would ensure a strong Lokpal Bill, but he must leave it “to the wisdom of Parliament” to pass that law.
