New Delhi/Ralegan Siddhi:
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has reached Delhi where he will observe a day-long fast tomorrow for a strong Lokpal Bill. Before leaving for Delhi though, the 74-year-old Gandhian said he is still open for talks with the Congress to arrive at a consensus. "Still open for talks with Congress to arrive at consensus...if offer comes from them," said Anna at the Pune airport.
Team Anna has invited all political parties for Anna Hazare's fast to be held at Jantar Mantar tomorrow, including the BJP, Congress, SP, AIADMK, BJD, and the Left. The Congress has refused to attend the fast, but sources have told NDTV that the BJP and Left are likely to go.
Speaking to NDTV, Anna also slammed the Congress once again, and said the party's intention was not clear to bring a strong Lokpal Bill. He also threatened that this time the agitation will be much bigger than the last one. This will be Anna's second protest at Jantar Mantar on the issue, the first being the hugely successful five-day fast from April 5 which forced the government to set up a joint committee of government and activists to draft Lokpal Bill.
Anna has said he will begin a new hunger strike on December 27 if the Lokpal Bill is not passed in this session of Parliament, or if it does not include the features his activists deem essential.
However, in an attempt to stave off another mass movement by Mr Hazare, and to prove its commitment to fighting corruption, the government has suggested that it is likely to meet two of the key demands that Mr Hazare has for the new anti-corruption Lokpal Bill. V Narayanswamy, who is the Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office, has said that the Prime Minister and 57 lakh junior bureaucrats may both be covered by the Lokpal Bill. That means the nine-member ombudsman agency will have the right to investigate them for corruption (though with many riders in the case of the PM).
So the major remaining point of dispute between the government and Team Anna is whether the CBI should report, as Team Anna wants, to the Lokpal. The government has indicated it's not likely to bend on this. "Rahul Gandhi is to blame for a weak draft of the Lokpal Bill, "Anna said in Pune last evening. Accusing the government of betrayal, the Gandhian said, "The anger of the people will boil over."
The Lokpal Bill will be reviewed by the Cabinet and introduced in Parliament next week. The government is inclined to offer far more than what's recommended by the parliamentary committee that has been studying the bill. The committee says junior bureaucrats should not be answerable to the nine members of the Lokpal. On the matter of the PM, it asks Parliament to decide, and presents three options - include the Prime Minister with safeguards, include the Prime Minister after he or she exits office and exclude him completely.