Jan Lokpal row: Anna Hazare responds to PM’s offer in a letter, creating hope of compromise

Mangalore Today News Network

New Delhi, Aug 25, 201 :  After ten days of Anna Hazare’s hunger strike, the Prime Minister today reached out to the 74-year-old activist both with a moving tribute and a new offer for compromise.

 

 

In Parliament, the Prime Minister, who has been criticized for appearing too distant during Anna’s massive anti-corruption movement, said, "His point has been registered.  I respect his idealism.  Anna Hazare has become the embodiment of people’s concern and disgust with corruption.  I applaud him, I salute him. "

He also sent his party’s Vilasrao Deshmukh to meet Anna at his protest camp and convey a new exit route from the current crisis. Mr Deshmukh knows Anna well, both men are from Maharashtra where the Congressman has served twice as Chief Minister.  Hoping for a breakthrough today, the PM will now meet his senior ministers at 5 pm

Anna has vowed not to end his fast till the Jan Lokpal Bill drafted by him and his colleagues is placed in Parliament. Named for the independent anti-corruption agency that it creates, the Lokpal Bill currently exists in three versions prepared by the government, Team Anna and a group of activists headed by Aruna Roy. The PM has suggested that all three drafts can be discussed by Parliament; a compilation of the best features from each could then be sent to a parliamentary committee for detailed study and feedback

Anna has given Mr Deshmukh a written response to this proposal. He has also reportedly said that he wants a debate to begin immediately in Parliament on the major points of dispute between the government and his team. 

Anna’s team has two demands that are contentious for the government. The first is that the Lokpal - a new independent agency to investigate corruption - must be allowed to cover junior bureaucrats. The second is that the Lokpal Act must be introduced not just at the Centre but in states.

So far, the government has said that the Lokpal’s powers over the lower bureaucracy could give it an authoritarian dimension. It also wants each state to decide on its own version of the Lokpal Act.

The PM’s remarks in the Lok Sabha came after the talks between his government and Anna’s associates skidded into dangerous territory.  Both sides this morning accused each other of misrepresenting facts and of taking extreme positions.

The government senses that Anna himself might be more flexible than his aides, who will be meeting the government at a new round of talks to discuss the PM’s offer later today.  So far, the activists have insisted that their bill be presented directly to Parliament, instead of being sent to a standing committee first which is standard procedure.  The PM’s offer allows that.



Courtesy : NDTV