Favours creation of a constitutional entity; Young Cong MPs rally behind the ‘big idea’; Anna camp says Rahul a political dilettante.
A new idea, described by Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi as a ‘game-changer’, was mooted over the Lok Pal issue on Friday. It favoured the creation of a Lok Pal as a constitutional entity on a par with the Election Commission and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG).
That and differences between the ruling Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the BJP-led Opposition, led to the postponement of the Lok Pal debate in Parliament on Friday. If the debate is held and concluded tomorrow and if Anna Hazare’s interpretation is that a consensus has been reached over various sticking points, he may call of his fast. The main points of contention pertain to the inclusion of all government servants, including the lower bureaucracy, under the Lok Pal, Lok Ayuktas for all states and a citizens’ charter to ensure delivery.
Friday, it was as if all the drama shifted from Ramlila Maidan to Parliament House. That included the ‘infiltration’ into Parliament by a man who, finding TV cameras handy, shouted slogans of “Inquilab Zindabad” and took off his shirt to reveal an Anna Hazare vest he was wearing underneath. He was arrested. But, the highlight of the day was the coming together of all young leaders of the Congress to extol the virtues of Rahul Gandhi’s speech and his suggestion the Lok Pal be an individual enjoying constitutional protection.
Gandhi spoke during the Zero Hour, an intervention designed to appear spontaneous. When Yashwant Sinha of the BJP asked how he was being allowed to speak when his name was not on the list, Speaker Meira Kumar calmly informed Sinha she had given him permission to speak. Deependra Singh Hooda and other young Congress leaders were on their feet shouting down interruptions. Gandhi spoke emphatically — with passion not seen before. His sister Priyanka who was in the visitors’ lobby could be seen urging him on.
The brother and sister left soon after his speech. Before leaving Parliament, Gandhi said his suggestion could be a game-changer for India.
Making it clear he disagreed with the arm-twisting tactics of Hazare's supporters, Gandhi said democratic processes should not be weakened by individual diktats.
Thanking Hazare for helping people to articulate their disillusionment, Gandhi cautioned him against weakening the democratic process.
Some ministers looked dismayed — if a constitutional amendment was going to be needed for a Lok Pal then the purpose of a debate, which was to get Hazare to end his fast, would be defeated. Other MPs said Gandhi’s suggestion was ‘brilliant’ and "unless India wanted to descend into becoming a Somalia, with people making frivolous complaints about corruption, Gandhi’s suggestion should be adopted."
At Ramlila Maidan, Gandhi’s speech was discussed but dismissed by Medha Patkar as the remarks of a political dilletante.
The BJP also came in for some rough treatment. When senior leaders, Ananth Kumar and Gopinath Munde, went to meet Hazare, they had to encounter a hostile crowd. Soon after the two MPs reached Ramlila Maidan, Hazare's supporters started shouting ‘chor chor (thieves)’ and forced them to leave abruptly.
In the meantime, when the government tried to initiate the debate on Lok Pal Bills in Lok Sabha at 2 pm, the BJP members didn’t allow it as they said the party was not taken into confidence. By the evening, there was also some clarity from the Hazare camp, as union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, the go-between, delivered a letter from Hazare to the PM.
The current thinking in the government is that while Gandhi's suggestion, which involves a constitutional amendment and will therefore involve a long haul, should be the overall aim, the current phase of negotiations via a parliamentary resolution should not be abandoned.
Most ministers say unless something went dractically wrong, the matter would be settled on Saturday.
