Massive support for Jan Lokpal Bill: Team Anna

Mangalore Today / PTI

New Delhi, August 01: Anna Hazare and his supporters on Monday claimed that they have got massive response from the general public in support of their version of the anti-corruption legislation which is being called the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Hazare’s close aide Arvind Kejriwal said that the opinion poll carried out by the civil socity in some Lok Sabha constituencies of the country showed that people want a strong Lokpal and there was an overwhelming response in favour of the civil society’s version of the Lokpal Bill. Kejriwal said that almost 85 per cent of the people are in favour of bringing the post of the Prime Minister under the ambit of the proposed Lokpal.

 

 

"The interim poll shows that majority are with our version of the Lokpal Bill. The people’s view is that the Jan Lokpal Bill version should be accepted. What is to be seen is what (Union Telecom and HRD Minister) Kapil Sibal sees. There should be a public debate. There was an overhelming respose of the people in Kapil Sibal’s constituency," said Kejriwal.

The civil society had carried out an opinion poll in Sibal’s Lok Sabha constituency Chandini Chowk. Kejriwal also claimed that in Amravati Lok Sabha constituency in Maharashtra nearly 98 per cent of the people are in favour of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

"There has been a huge support for Jan Lokpal Bill. The question is that does the Government’s Lokpal Bill gets the desired support of the people? If the Government is not listening to the people’s view, is it democracy? he asked.

Addressing the media, Hazare added that he would go ahead with his proposed fast for a strong Lokpal from August 16 at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. Hazare alleged that the Government was not interested in tackling corruption menace and threatened that he and his supporters were even willing to face bullets in order to build a corruption-free India.

"If we are not allowed to sit on dharna at Jantar Mantar on August 16, we will court arrest. The police has not even replied to our application till now. The intention of the Government is not right," Hazare said.

He claimed that the opinion poll carried out by his supporters in Chandni Chowk showed that whatever Sibal had been saying in the Lokpal Bill drafting joint committee is not what the people of his constituency are saying.

Team Anna claimed that 4 lakh forms with eight questions each were distributed in Chandni Chowk constituency out of which 86,000 forms have been collected till now. The referendum forms constituted of a questionnaire of 8 questions on components of the bill.

The result showed that 85 percent of the people surveyed agreed with Team Anna’s demand that if the citizen’s charter is violated penalty should be imposed on the guilty officer and it should be paid to the citizen as compensation. Only seven per cent said that penalties should not be there.

An overwhelming 89 percent people supported Team Anna’s view that all government officials should be brought within the jurisdiction of Lokpal while only 4.6 per cent said that only senior officer should come under Lokpal.

Eighty-five per cent people agreed that Lokayukta should be set up in each state through the same bill as demanded in the Jan Lokpal Bill and 88 per cent people were in favour that the MPs’ conduct in Parliament should be investigated by an independent Lokpal, not by committee of MPs as proposed by the Government.

Even the demand for bringing the judiciary under the Lokpal was supported by the majority, claimed Team Anna. Kejriwal said that 86 per cent people said that the judiciary should also come under the Lokpal.

On bringing the Prime Minister under the ambit of Lokpal, over 82 per cent people agreed with Team Anna while six per cent believed that the Prime Minister should not come under Lokpal as the Government has proposed.

The power to dismiss a corrupt officer should be with Lokpal and not with the minister of the concerned department as proposed in the Government’s bill was supported by 84 percent people.

On the question how the MPs should vote for the Lokpal Bill people 83 per cent opined that the MP should vote according to the wishes of the people.

Kejriwal claimed that in Maharashtra’s Amravati 1,20,443 people voted out of which 1,18,082 (98 per cent) people voted in favor of the Jan Lokpal Bill. In Mumbai 1,04,006 people voted and 95.04 per cent people supported Team Anna’s draft, claimed Kejriwal.