Hegde disapproves Anna’s dictum to Parliament

Mangalore Today / PTI

Bangalore, August 26 : Disapproving Anna Hazare’s insistence on “having his way” in Parliament and making a case to end his fast, joint drafting committee member on Lokpal Bill N Santosh Hegde today said he feels he is no longer with Team Anna.

Hegde, a former Supreme Court judge who has emerged as the face of anti-corruption crusade in Karnataka, said the demand that “my dictum should be accepted by Parliament” is, in fact, demeaning to the Lok Sabha.

“I feel I am not in Team Anna any more by the way things are going. These (telling Parliament what to do) are not democratic things,” said Hegde, who till recently served as Karnataka Lokayukta.

 

“I can’t justify these things that you give command to Parliament. No (it should not be done),” he said. “I have been a judge and I believe in certain democratic principles. And to me, it’s very difficult to digest,” he said.

Hegde said after the exercise of joint drafting of the bill failed, “we (Team Anna) said you (the Government) send ours (our version of the bill) also together with the Government version and place it before Parliament.

“Beyond that, I will not go further,” he said.

Stressing that the fast should be separated from the fight against corruption, Hegde said the struggle against graft should go on. Hazare should give up his fast, he added.

Some 10 people are also fasting and if something happened to them, how can one give an explanation to their parents? he asked.

Hegde also expressed displeasure over Hazare using “certain words wrongly” in his anger. “I don’t know whether he has developed some sense of arrogance because of the mass support and promises coming from the government”.

Attacking Hazare and the government in the same tone, he said “both are practically killing democracy.” Government makes promises and comes out of it later.

“Party (Congress) in power is playing a game. You never know what exactly will happen in Parliament,” he remarked even as he did not mince words against Hazare for trying to “compel” Parliament on “what it should do.”

“I am finding it extremely difficult to digest (on Hazare’s insistence vis-a-vis what Parliament should do,” Hegde added.