New Delhi:
The tenuous relationship between the government and civil society activists led by Anna Hazare seems to now be in the hazard zone.
Senior minister Kapil Sibal took on Mr Hazare for deciding to skip today's meeting of the committee that's drafting the new law against corruption, the Lokpal Bill.
Mr Sibal also suggested that the government is running out of patience with the public criticism levelled by Mr Hazare and other activists who are a part of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee. "The names we've been called," Mr Sibal listed, "... cheats, liars, conspirators. We've been charged with betrayal. But we have never made these sort of allegations. And Anna's discourse does not seem to reflect civil society because we are also in touch with other activists. We reject in the strongest possible terms these kind of allegations made by Anna. That the government is telling lies, they are conspirators, the government are cheats... this is just not acceptable... and we hope that in the future, this kind of language will not be conducted outside in the public arena."
What seems to have really irked the government is that in a letter explaining their decision to skip today's meeting, the activists cited government's decision over the weekend to dismantle the camp that yoga icon Baba Ramdev had set up in Delhi as a platform for his hunger strike against corruption. "The mandate for the committee is to come up with a good draft (of the lokpal Bill) Linking this to other issues is not appropriate," said Mr Sibal. (Watch: Team Anna to boycott Lokpal meet)
The panel that's drafting the Lokpal Bill is referred to as a "joint committee" because it couples five non-government representatives with five ministers, including Mr Sibal. The committee was set up on Mr Hazare's insistence in April after a hunger strike by the Gandhian provoked huge public response.
Mr Hazare and the other representatives of civil society who are part of the drafting committee have said they will not attend meetings till the government proves its serious about their concerns. Included on the activists' agenda is that meetings of the committee be videotaped, and that the features of the bill be put to public debate. (Watch: Ramdev vs government escalates, both say trust betrayed)
The heavily-fraught dynamic between the government and Team Hazare has been severely tested by the events of this weekend which saw the government forcibly breaking up a camp organized by Baba Ramdev. Surrounded by 65,000 supporters in Delhi, the yoga teacher launched a fast against corruption. Mr Sibal and other senior ministers had tried to talk the Baba out of his hunger strike by assuring him that it would address the concerns raised by him about black money. (Read: Baba Ramdev detained, asked to leave Delhi)
On Saturday evening, the Baba chose to ignore a deal that had been struck earlier - he had committed to fasting for a few hours after the ministers had explained their plan of action on recovering black money from foreign bank accounts.
The government authorised the police to dismantle the Baba's huge base camp in Delhi. Teargassing and a lathicharge followed. The Baba was evicted from Delhi and banned from entering the capital for the next 15 days. He has resumed his hunger strike at his ashram in Uttarkahand.
Comparing the action against him to the Emergency of 1975, Shanti Bhushan who is the co-chairman of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee said the government is obliged to resign.
Senior minister Kapil Sibal took on Mr Hazare for deciding to skip today's meeting of the committee that's drafting the new law against corruption, the Lokpal Bill.
Mr Sibal also suggested that the government is running out of patience with the public criticism levelled by Mr Hazare and other activists who are a part of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee. "The names we've been called," Mr Sibal listed, "... cheats, liars, conspirators. We've been charged with betrayal. But we have never made these sort of allegations. And Anna's discourse does not seem to reflect civil society because we are also in touch with other activists. We reject in the strongest possible terms these kind of allegations made by Anna. That the government is telling lies, they are conspirators, the government are cheats... this is just not acceptable... and we hope that in the future, this kind of language will not be conducted outside in the public arena."
What seems to have really irked the government is that in a letter explaining their decision to skip today's meeting, the activists cited government's decision over the weekend to dismantle the camp that yoga icon Baba Ramdev had set up in Delhi as a platform for his hunger strike against corruption. "The mandate for the committee is to come up with a good draft (of the lokpal Bill) Linking this to other issues is not appropriate," said Mr Sibal. (Watch: Team Anna to boycott Lokpal meet)
The panel that's drafting the Lokpal Bill is referred to as a "joint committee" because it couples five non-government representatives with five ministers, including Mr Sibal. The committee was set up on Mr Hazare's insistence in April after a hunger strike by the Gandhian provoked huge public response.
Mr Hazare and the other representatives of civil society who are part of the drafting committee have said they will not attend meetings till the government proves its serious about their concerns. Included on the activists' agenda is that meetings of the committee be videotaped, and that the features of the bill be put to public debate. (Watch: Ramdev vs government escalates, both say trust betrayed)
The heavily-fraught dynamic between the government and Team Hazare has been severely tested by the events of this weekend which saw the government forcibly breaking up a camp organized by Baba Ramdev. Surrounded by 65,000 supporters in Delhi, the yoga teacher launched a fast against corruption. Mr Sibal and other senior ministers had tried to talk the Baba out of his hunger strike by assuring him that it would address the concerns raised by him about black money. (Read: Baba Ramdev detained, asked to leave Delhi)
On Saturday evening, the Baba chose to ignore a deal that had been struck earlier - he had committed to fasting for a few hours after the ministers had explained their plan of action on recovering black money from foreign bank accounts.
The government authorised the police to dismantle the Baba's huge base camp in Delhi. Teargassing and a lathicharge followed. The Baba was evicted from Delhi and banned from entering the capital for the next 15 days. He has resumed his hunger strike at his ashram in Uttarkahand.
Comparing the action against him to the Emergency of 1975, Shanti Bhushan who is the co-chairman of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee said the government is obliged to resign.
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