New Delhi:
Anna Hazare's team wanted the nitty gritty of the Lokpal Bill discussed at Jantar Mantar on Sunday. A group of seasoned politicians from across parties accepted the invitation to speak at the venue of Anna Hazare's token one-day fast, but left with an emphatic message - "Those details are the prerogative of the Parliament. Leave it to Parliament. We'll ensure that a strong, independent Lokpal Bill is passed."
In the words of the BJD's Pinaki Mishra, "The sentiments of the people will be kept foremost while framing the law." He joined Sharad Yadav of the JDU to suggest that the bill should not be rushed through, and must be put to sufficient debate in Parliament, even if it means extending the current session or calling a special session.
When the politicians, like the Left's AB Bardhan or the Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav, or even Nikhil Dey an activist from Aruna Roy's NCPRI, took a stand different from Team Anna, the crowds booed them. They booed D Raja for speaking in English. This was clearly Anna Hazare's turf and contrary opinions were unwelcome, reinforcing the criticism that Team Anna often seems to want to dictate all terms and is intolerant of differences and dissent.
Leaders like Mr Bardhan and Mr Yadav also did not endear themselves for suggesting that Team Anna should be less rigid on every demand being met. "All politicians are not corrupt...You cannot say that anyone that does not accept every comma or full stop of your Jan Lokpal Bill supports corruption," Mr Bardhan said.
Team Anna argued that "the Devil was in the details." Seeing off his guests, Anna Hazare said with a smile, "We will go to jail if necessary; we will go to the streets to seek a strong Lokpal; do join us there." And when they left, he told his supporters, "We trust Parliament, but these politicians should remember that we sent them to Parliament to serve us. The people are their masters. The government must serve the people." He also said that the right to reject all candidates on the ballot while casting a vote was important.
Anna had invited all political parties to debate key provisions of the Lokpal Bill, saying he wanted the nation to rise against a weak anti-corruption or Lokpal Bill, to be discussed soon in Parliament before it is made the law. All major parties, mainly from the Opposition, participated. "Anna Hazare is insulting Parliament. The Lokpal Bill cannot be made at Jantar Mantar," said Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi.
The Congress is not attending the Jantar Mantar debate. Instead, the government will review the bill at a Cabinet meet on Tuesday, followed by a meeting with key allies on the same day. After that, an all-party meet will be held on the bill on Wednesday. The Congress says that is the appropriate process for discussing the draft of new legislation. The Congress sent a letter excusing itself and suggesting that such a debate was premature since Parliament would discuss it soon.
Onstage at Jantar Mantar, flanking Anna on either side the BJP's Arun Jaitley and the CPM's Brinda Karat sat for a few hours. Other Left leaders AB Bardhan and D Raja were there and the Samajwadi Party's Ram Gopal Yadav. The TDP's Chandrababu Naidu couldn't make it, but sent senior leader Yerran Naidu. SS Dhindsa of the Akali Dal and the BJD's Pinaki Mishra were there.
Sharad Yadav - who had made a fiery anti-Anna speech in Parliament earlier this year - took the podium with wry humour and this time assured Anna that what Parliament had promised him as "a sense of the House" after his 12-day fast in August, would be followed in letter and spirit. Also that the matter would be fully debated in Parliament, where indeed it should be, he said. The opposition, he said, would insist that the winter Session be extended or a special session be called to discuss and pass a strong anti-corruption law.
The Lokpal refers to a new ombudsman agency with nine members that will have the right to investigate corruption charges against government servants. A parliamentary committee has tabled a draft of the Lokpal Bill that says 57 lakh junior bureaucrats and the Prime Minister should not fall under the review of the Lokpal. And the CBI, when investigating charges of corruption, should be supervised by but not be accountable to the Ombudsman. These are must-have powers for the Lokpal, in Team Anna's opinion, and its points like these that were debated by the representatives of political parties. All of them tore apart the standing committee's recommendations, informing those present that their parties had put dissent notes on the panel's final draft.
Mr Jaitley said all government servants must be covered by Lokpal. The BJP, he said, wanted the PM to be covered by the Lokpal, and not just after he or she finished term. He attacked the government for going against the "sense of the House" - to have the Lokpal model replicated in states, to have a Citizen's Charter, and that lower bureaucracy must come under the Lokpal. But these points had been excluded from the draft put forth by a standing committee and this was against what Parliament had promised the country.
The BJP leader did not, however, offer outright support to Team Anna on the sticking point of including the CBI. Investigative powers of the CBI must be freed from supervision by the government, he said, the agency's administrative powers should come under the Lokpal.
Left leaders suggested that the CBI report in to the Lokpal in toto. Misuse of the CBI by the government was a leitmotif in the speech of leader after leader. The Left also supported Team Anna on demands like the inclusion of the PM and the citizens charter.
This is Anna's third fast this year for the Lokpal bill, and his doctors are worried about his health. But on arriving in Delhi yesterday, Anna told reporters he is fighting fit. "Don't you see the glow on my face?" he asked.
The 74-year-old began the day with a ritualistic visit to Rajghat where he meditated at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial and was at his protest camp at Jantar Mantar by 10.30 am; he declared "Vande Mataram," national flags streamed around him; so did the patriotic songs that are used by his activists to motivate and entertain supporters while Anna fasts.
There's another agenda for today's protest - Team Anna wants to test-drive public sentiment ahead of a longer and more rigorous protest scheduled to begin on December 27. National endorsement of - and participation in-Anna's last hunger strike in August led to Parliament agreeing that Anna's basic principles for a new law against graft would be studied immediately. Except that the report on the Lokpal Bill delivered by the Parliamentary committee two days ago has been rejected by Anna as "a betrayal of the people."
"This is not Anna's voice against the government," said a young naval officer in Mumbai. "This is India's voice against corruption."
In Anna's hometown of Ralegan Siddhi, a group of people are holding a satellite fast and amid much criticism that Team Anna's younger members do not joint Anna on his hunger strike, three activists - Vishwas Mohan, Manish Sisodia and Arvind Kejriwal - are fasting today.