All-party meet asks Hazare to end fast; govt may move activist out of Ramlila Maidan; FM says won’t truncate due parliamentary process.
The government-Anna Hazare negotiations over the anti-corruption ombudsman Bill came close to a collapse on Wednesday. The government got tough, buoyed by a unanimous all-party resolution that vested its faith in the supremacy of Parliament.
After talks with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and law minister Salman Khurshid, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal from Hazare’s camp emerged visibly downcast. They said they were told sternly by Mukherjee that Hazare’s deteriorating health was their problem, not the government’s.
The 360-degree change in mood was a result of the all-party meeting, which passed a terse, unanimous resolution: “This meeting of all parties in Parliament requests Anna Hazare to end his fast. Due consideration should be given to the Jan Lok Pal Bill so that the final draft of the Lok Pal Bill provides for a strong and effective Lok Pal supported by a broad national consensus.”
What this meant was all the parties had decided the Jan Lok Pal Bill was not acceptable to them in toto, and national consensus, not fasting leaders, would be the guiding spirit of the Bill.
Even the Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party came on board, virtually endorsing the government’s line that Parliament was supreme.
At his meeting with activists Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi last night, Mukherjee had said the Lok Pal Bill could not be tabled in this session, so the August 30 deadline was impossible to meet. On Wednesday, the activists said they found the attitude of the negotiating team implacable. “We are back to square one,” Bhushan said.
At the all-party meeting, the PM said India Against Corruption wanted written assurances with timelines if Hazare was to end his fast. In his opening remarks, the prime minister summarised the arguments of the Hazare group thus: “Broadly their position is that (a) the government should withdraw the Bill introduced in Parliament (b) the Jan Lok Pal Bill should be introduced, with some changes, in Parliament within four days and (c) this Bill should be discussed and passed during this session of Parliament by extending it if necessary, with minor amendments adopted by Parliament, and without referring the Bill to the standing committee.”
The BJP was opposed to the Hazare supporters’ demand for Lok Ayuktas in every state. The leaders were unanimous a deadline was unacceptable. But, they demanded the PM unveil a plan to handle Hazare and his supporters. And, they suggested the government make some changes in its draft Bill, especially related to the Prime Minister (to be brought under the purview of Lok Pal, with some safeguards) and independence for the CBI.
Consequent to the meeting with Mukherjee, the mood behind the stage at Ramlila Maidan was tense. Anticipating that Hazare might forcibly be removed from the venue, supporters firmed up a plan to court arrest at every police station they could find.
Mukherjee was of the view there could be no compromise on parliamentary procedure. Nor could the process of creation of a consensus be truncated. Therefore, the question of bringing the Bill in the current Monsoon session did not arise. In a way, the all-party meeting endorsed this position. Mukherjee said as much after his meeting with the three Hazare advisors.
One of the plans the government seemed to be working on was to remove Hazare from Ramlila Maidan and possibly from Delhi, secure in the knowledge the Parliament would endorse that as well.
