Anna team to govt: Tone down arrogance
With the government showing its resolve to draft a strong Lokpal bill on its own, the civil society members in the Joint Drafting Committee (JDC), who had boycotted on Monday the sixth meeting of the panel, on Tuesday softened their stand by saying that they had no intention to quit the committee and hit out at HRD minister Kapil Sibal for attacking them.
In the mean time, co-chairman of JDC Shanti Bhushan, once again shot off a letter to panel’s chairman Pranab Mukherjee, highlighting contentious issues including bringing Prime Minister under the ambit of Lokpal and urged him to explain the government’s views on those issues.
Informing that civil society members would attend the next meeting, Arvind Kejriwal, who is one of the members of the JDC, contended that if they left the 10-member committee, it would have “no credibility”, as it will only remain a panel of government representatives.
“Kapil Sibal has said that whether we come or not, they will go ahead (with the drafting of the Lokpal Bill). Why did that question arise? We had written to (finance minister) Pranab Mukherjee that we would not be attending June 6 meeting. We also said that Anna Hazare will not be available on June 10 and so that the meeting on that day be postponed. So, it makes it clear that we are going to attend meetings. We are not going to leave the committee just like that,” Mr Kejriwal said.
The civil society activist, however, accused Mr Sibal of “putting words in their mouth” and suggested that the government should tone down arrogance.
Despite the five civil society members boycotting the meeting on Monday, the government ministers went ahead and finalised some provisions of the proposed Lokpal bill.
Responding to Congress spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi’s comments that Mr Hazare was a mask of BJP, another activist Prashant Bhushan said such remarks deserve contempt.
The activists also defended their insistence on live telecast of JDC proceedings saying it will give a better picture of the stands taken by both the sides.
On the question of live telecast, Prashant Bhushan said why the government was against the live telecast if they have nothing to hide.
On the issue of bringing MPs under the ambit of Lokpal, Mr Kejriwal said not a single MP accused in the cash-for-vote scam was punished. “For the past three years, not a single MP has been punished. Has any investigation been done? Has something happened? Our MPs vote after taking money and go unpunished. Tomorrow they take money from someone outside the country and vote, will that not be detrimental,” he said.
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