Author: IANS
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: June 14, 2011
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/345561/Hazare-questions-PM-Congress-hits-back-war-escalates.html
A day after Baba Ramdev ended his nine-day
fast against corruption, Team Hazare on Monday asked Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh why he was "scared" of the proposed Lokpal bill, prompting
the Congress to hit back at the civil rights activists.
Taking their war of words to a new level,
Gandhian Anna Hazare and his associates sent an open letter to Manmohan Singh
demanding to know why his government wanted to keep his office outside the
Lokpal's ambit.
"You are the most honest prime minister
the country has had. It is ironical your own government should seek (to keep)
the prime minister out of the purview of Lokpal's investigation," they
wrote in the letter.
Hazare confidant Arvind Kejriwal separately
urged the government to hold a referendum to determine whether people preferred
an official Lokpal bill or the more radical one suggested by civil rights
activists.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari attacked
the activists crusading against corruption, saying the country faced threats
from the "tyranny of (the) unelected".
"They always keep threatening (to go)
on fast even as the government is holding discussions with them. Is it democratic?"
asked Tewari.
"If you have faith in your strength,
through discussions, convince the government...
"If this country and democracy has any
threat, it is from the unelected tyrants. If democracy faces its greatest
peril, it is from the tyranny of the unelected.
"Such people need to understand one basic
thing. In the democratic system, the veto is in the hands of people, not any
person," Tewari added.
Kejriwal has emerged as the most vocal member
of Team Hazare, which also includes lawyers Shanti and Prashant Bhushan as
well as former judge Santosh Hegde.
All five are members of a 10-member panel,
which includes five cabinet ministers, set up to frame the proposed Lokpal
bill to fight corruption in high places.
Relations between the government and Team
Hazare has deteriorated in recent days. While Hazare wants the prime minister
to be covered by the Lokpal bill, the government has come out strongly against
the demand.
The letter sent to the prime minister sought
to know why.
"Till now the prime minister could be
investigated by the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation). Why should an honest
prime minister like you be scared of being investigated by an independent
Lokpal?" it asked.
"In the past you yourself offered to
be brought under the purview of the Lokpal. Then why are your ministers opposing
your inclusion in the Lokpal's ambit? Is there a disconnect? Taking the prime
minister out of any probe would be a retrograde step."
Kejriwal's comments came a day after Finance
Minister and Congress veteran Pranab Mukherjee accused civil society of putting
undue pressure on the government with their protest campaigns.
Both the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and
the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) also attacked the government on the
issue of corruption.
While the BJP asked the prime minister to
clarify whether or not he wished to be covered by the Lokpal bill, the RSS
asked the Congress to stop hurling "baseless charges" against civil
society activists.
The government is also upset over Hazare's
criticism of the police crackdown on Baba Ramdev's demonstration in New Delhi
and the persistent demand to have public debate over the Lokpal -- as opposed
to the close-door discussions that have taken place so far.
