Author: PTI
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: August 17, 2011
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/361386/PM-statement-on-Anna-a-bundle-of-lies-BJP.html
Angered over the arrest of Anna Hazare, Opposition
today dismissed as a "bundle of lies" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's
statement on the issue, noting that the arrest of the Gandhian has brought
people on the streets all over the country.
"This government is not only corrupt
but also repressive ...Corruption is a big issue and the way you have acted
the people are on the streets," Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj
said, initiating a discussion on the issue in the Lok Sabha.
Speaker Meira Kumar allowed as a special case
a debate on the issue after Prime Minister made a statement detailing the
sequence of events that led to action against Hazare.
"The long statement conceals more than
it reveals," Swaraj said, adding that protection of civil rights was
one of the most important principles in a democratic country and the Opposition
parties which are for supremacy of Parliament as also the judiciary, will
fight for it.
She lamented that the Congress-led coalition
protects the civil rights of separatists like S A R Geelani who had sometime
back held a meet here but comes out against elderly Gandhians like Anna Hazare.
She said the way the police acted against
Ramdev and his supporters at the Ramlila Maidan here on June 4 showed that
this government was not a protector of civil rights.
"The government is shifting the responsibility
from its shoulders to that of the Delhi Police Commissioner," Swaraj
said, adding that the attitude and the conduct of the government inside and
outside Parliament was beyond comprehension.
Swaraj accused the government of setting aside
the principle of Parliamentary supremacy and Parliamentary processes when
it came to drafting the Lokpal Bill.
"Who resorted to set aside the entire
Opposition and talked only to Team Anna?" Swaraj posed, having a dig
at the Prime Minister who had spoken about Parliamentary processes in his
statement.
She said the civil society told the Opposition
that its suggestion to include the other political parties was shot down by
the government. She alleged that the government involved the Opposition only
when its talks with the civil society group hit a stalemate.
Swaraj also sought to embarrass the Congress
saying that its spokesperson had only two days back alleged that Hazare was
"steeped in corruption from head to toe".
Sanjay Nirupam (Cong), who opened the innings
for his party, asserted that nobody has the right to agitate against Parliament
and nobody is above the law.
Dismissing Opposition charges against the
Prime Minister and Home Minister, Nirupam said, "Is the PM or HM responsible
for enforcing CrPC and IPC? It is the job of Delhi Police."
He maintained that despite so many arrests
yesterday, the police had not wielded the lathi on any protestor. Yet the
Opposition was alleging that there was Emergency-like situation and violation
of civil rights, he lamented.
Nirupam insisted that 34 of the 40 suggestions
made by Hazare and his team were accepted by the government but still he wanted
to go on a fast.
He alleged that Hazare is fasting against
Parliament and norms of the Constitution.
