No respite for govt as Anna Hazare to sit on one-day fast today
NEW DELHI: The Anna Hazare group on Tuesday reversed its decision to boycott deliberations on the drafting of the Lokpal bill, in a manoeuvre designed to deny the government an easy escape route in the confrontation over the powers and jurisdiction of the anti-graft ombudsman.
The decision to return to the negotiating table was conveyed to finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and came within a day of HRD minister Kapil Sibals public declaration that the government would go ahead with preparing the draft Lokpal bill by June 30, irrespective of the participation of the Hazare camp. While the government can take satisfaction that the boycott is over, the flip side is that civil societys involvement in framing the Lokpal legislation will ensure that the government gets no walkover on the bill. Also, it will see the slugfest over the demands of activists continuing in a season when the focus is on scams.
The return of the Hazare group does not signal an end to hostilities as the activists, who are to stage a day-long fast today to express solidarity with Baba Ramdev, have not resiled from their position as well as the charge that the government is engaged in duplicity. In fact, in their letter to Mukherjee, the group asked the government to spell out the reasons it did not favour live telecast of the proceedings of the Lokpal panel.