Anna Hazare: Another protest if bill not passed

Gandhian Anna Hazare on Thursday asked the people for repeat of a sit-in protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar if the government does not pass the Jan Lokpal Bill within the stipulated time.

Addressing an 'India Against Corruption' rally in Varanasi over phone from Pune, he said, "The country has not attained freedom in its true sense yet and we have to fight a second freedom struggle. We are prepared to go to jail for that."

Hazare said elimination of corruption in the country would start from the day the Jan Lokpal Bill is made into law.

"We have to fight another battle for a corruption-free India and our youth power has to rise up for it."
The social activist said youth power is the power of the country and once they become aware no one can stop them.

Owing to health grounds, Hazare has said that he will not be able to attend the Uttar Pradesh leg of the nation-wide 'India Against Corruption' rallies and would address the people over the phone.

Anna Hazare:PIL challenges legality of Lokpal committee

No one expected an easy going for the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill but it seems the road ahead is getting increasingly treacherous. On Monday, the very basis of existence of the 10-member joint committee which has members of civil society as members was challenged in the country’s apex court.

Advocate M L Sharma and others filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court contending that inclusion of five civil society members in the committee, which also has five ministers, is constitutionally flawed as a parliamentary committee must comprise only members of Parliament and no one else.

Hence, the petitioners are demanding that the notification on Lokpal committee be quashed.

The PIL also sought a probe into the controversial CD purportedly carrying audio clippings of a telephone conversation between committee co-chair and civil society memer Shanti Bhushan, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Amar Singh about influencing a judge.

Clearly, the anti-corruption crusade is headed for a showdown not just with regards to the redrafting of the Lokpal Bill but also in view of the accompanying legal battles.

As Anna Hazare said, the battle has been won but the war will continue.

Anna Hazare:Kapil Sibal should resign from Committee

Gandhian Anna Hazare today said Union HRD Minister Kapil Sibal should resign from the joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill "if he feels nothing will happen" out of this institution.

Reacting to a reported statement of Sibal on the Lokpal institution, he said, "If Sibal feels that nothing will happen due to the Lokpal Bill then he should resign from the joint committee as soon as possible.

"Why is he wasting his and our time? He should do other things for the country. Why does he want to be in the committee. If you believe that nothing will happen, you should not be there in the joint committee, he should resign and do some other work," he told reporters before he left for his hometown in Maharashtra.

Sibal had yesterday told a public meeting, "I ask this question, if a poor child does not have any means for education, then how will Lokpal Bill help? If a poor man needs help for medical services then he will call up a politician. How will Lokpal Bill help."

Asked about Hazare's demand, Sibal told reporters today that he was with the Gandhian and that he wanted the Bill to be drafted as early as possible and to be effective in tackling corruption everywhere.

Clarifying his earlier remarks, he said what he had meant was that "the scope of the Bill is different. The problems of the common man are different."

"I said that if you want to educate children, then this has no connection to Lokpal. If there is no convenience of water...Lokpal is only connected to corruption and we will bring a good bill that will stop corruption."

He said they would sit with Hazare and bring out a bill so that the objective will be realised.

Anna Hazare :Letter to the Prime minister

Veteran social activist and Gandhian Anna Hazare has written an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. In the letter dated April 6, 2011, Hazare has raised many questions and sought the Prime Minister's reply.

The 72-year-old social activist, supported by eminent persons including Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal, has been demanding that the drafting committee for the Lokpal Bill to tackle corruption should include members of civil society.

He started his fast-unto-death at New Delhi's Jantar Mantar on Tuesday to demand a stricter anti-corruption law that that is being proposed by the Government.

Below is the full text of Hazare's letter to the Prime Minister:

India Against Corruption

A-119, Kaushambi, Ghaziabad . 201010. UP Ph: 09868069953

www.indiaagainstcorruption.org

Date: April 6, 2011

To,

Dr. Manmohan Singh,

Hon'ble Prime Minister of India

New Delhi Dear

Dr. Singh,

I have started my indefinite fast at Jantar mantar. I had invited you also to fast and pray for a corruption free India on 5th April. Though I did not receive any reply from you, I am hopeful that you must have done that.

I am pained to read and hear about government's reaction to my fast. I consider it my duty to clarify the points raised on behalf of Congress party and the government by their spokespersons, as they appear in media:

1. It is being alleged that I am being instigated by some people to sit on this fast. Dear Manmohan Singh ji, this is an insult to my sense of wisdom and intelligence. I am not a kid that I could be "instigated" into going on an indefinite fast. I am a fiercely independent person. I take advice from many friends and critics, but do what my conscience directs me to do. It is my experience that when cornered, governments resort to such malicious slandering. I am pained that the government, rather than addressing the issue of corruption, is trying to allege conspiracies, when there are none.

2. It is being said that I have shown impatience. Dear Prime Minister, so far, every government has shown complete insensitivity and lack of political commitment to tackling corruption. 62 years after independence, we still do not have independent and effective anti-corruption systems. Very weak versions of Lokpal Bill were presented in Parliament eight times in last 42 years. Even these weak versions were not passed by Parliament. This means, left to themselves, the politicians and bureaucrats will never pass any law which subjects them to any kind of objective scrutiny. At a time, when the country has witnessed scams of unprecedented scale, the impatience of the entire country is justified. And we call upon you, not to look for precedents, but show courage to take unprecedented steps.

3. It is being said that I have shown impatience when the government has "initiated" the process. I would urge you to tell me - exactly what processes are underway?

a. You say that your Group of Ministers are drafting the anti-corruption law. Many of the members of this Group of Ministers have such a shady past that if effective anticorruption systems had been in place, some of them would have been behind bars. Do you want us to have faith in a process in which some of the most corrupt people of this country should draft the anti-corruption law?

b. NAC sub-committee has discussed Jan Lokpal Bill. But what does that actually mean? Will the government accept the recommendations of NAC sub-committee? So far, UPA II has shown complete contempt for even the most innocuous issues raised by NAC.

c. I and many other friends from India Against Corruption movement wrote several letters to you after 1st December. I also sent you a copy of Jan Lokpal Bill on 1st December. We did not get any response. It is only when I wrote to you that I will sit on an indefinite fast, we were promptly invited for discussions on 7th March. I wonder whether the government responds only to threats of indefinite fast. Before that, representatives of India Against Corruption had been meeting various Ministers seeking their support for the Jan Lokpal Bill. They met Mr Moily also and personally handed over copy of Jan Lokpal to him. A few hours before our meeting with you, we received a phone call from Mr Moily's office that the copy of Jan Lokpal Bill had been misplaced by his office and they wanted another copy. This is the seriousness with which the government has dealt with Jan Lokpal Bill.

d. Dear Dr Manmohan Singh ji, if you were in my place, would you have any faith in the aforesaid processes? Kindly let me know if there are any other processes underway. If you still feel that I am impatient, I am happy that I am because the whole nation is feeling impatient at the lack of credible efforts from your government against corruption.

4. What are we asking for? We are not saying that you should accept the Bill drafted by us. But kindly create a credible platform for discussions . a joint committee with at least half members from civil society suggested by us. Your spokespersons are misleading the nation when they say that there is no precedent for setting up a joint committee. At least seven laws in Maharashtra were drafted by similar joint committees and presented in Maharashtra Assembly. Maharashtra RTI Act, one of the best laws of those times, was drafted by a joint committee. Even at the centre, when 25,000 tribals came to Delhi two years ago, your government set up a joint committee on land issues within 48 hours. You yourself are the Chairperson of that committee. This means that the government is willing to set up joint committees on all other issues, but not on corruption. Why?

5. It is being said that the government wants to talk to us and we are not talking to them. This is utterly false. Tell me a single meeting when you called us and we did not come. We strongly believe in dialogue and engagement. Kindly do not mislead the country by saying that we are shunning dialogue. We request you to take some credible steps at stemming corruption. Kindly stop finding faults and suspecting conspiracies in our movement. There are none. Even if there were, it does not absolve you of your responsibilities to stop corruption.

With warm regards,

(K B Hazare)

ANNA HAZARE: DEMAND REJECTED

The government has rejected the demand of Anna Hazare to issue an official notification to constitute the draft committee forLokpal Bill and also rejected the proposal for an outsider to lead the new committee of government and civil society.

The protesters announced that Kapil Sibal had conveyed about this decision to them and has also said that Pranab Mukherjee will head the committee.

Reacting to the government's stand, Anna Hazare announced country-wide Jail Bharo agiation on April 12.

However, later the date was changed to April 13 as organisers realised April 12 was a Ramnavami holiday and the agitation would inconvenience people.

An angry Hazare said that the people will teach the government a lesson by joinging the jail bharo agitation against the government.

Meanwhile, Anna Hazare, whose fast entered the fourth day on Friday, has said that he will not become the chairman of the proposed draft committee for the Lokpal Bill.

Addressing the thousands at the protest site, Anna Hazare said that he would only assist the committee in advisory capacity.

The fasting leaders announced that Anna Hazare will write a letter to Prime Minister manmohan Singh forwarding the names of Santosh Hegde and Justice GS Verma to lead the proposed draft committee.

The government has already rejected these names.

Hazare called for immediate decentralisation of power at the centre to ensure that there is end to corruption in governance.

Stating that Mahatma Gandhi stressed on decentralisation of power, he said his fast for Lokpal Bill was like the second fight for Independence. He said, Lokpal Bill will lead to decentralisation of power.

Hazare said Right to Information Act is an example for all to see. The RTI has led to devolution of power.

Taking a dig at the present set up, Hazare said all the agencies to tackle corruption at present are under the government and hence there has never been any positive outcome of any probe.

Hazare said we are demanding that all these agencies should come under the purview of Lokpal. This will ensure that all the corrupt will land in jail, he said.