Withdraw Lokpal Bill from Parliament: Team Anna

New Delhi, Aug 10 (PTI) Adopting a tough posture, team
Anna Hazare Wednesday asked a Parliamentary panel to recommend
to the government to withdraw the Lokpal Bill and come out
with a fresh measure which deals with problem of corruption
faced by the public.
Social activist Hazare said though the decision of the
Parliamentary Committee to study the Jan Lokpal bill(citizens
anti-corruption ombudsman bill) along with the government
legislation was a "good thing", he would continue with his
August 16 indefinite fast if the panel did not take a decision
by that date.
"My fast is against the government and not Parliament,"
he said.
Hazare, senior lawyer Shanti Bhushan, his son Prashant,
RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi
today appeared before the Standing Committee on Personnel and
Law Justice to put forth their views on the government Lokpal
Bill.
The Lokpal Bill, introduced in Lok Sabha(Lower House of
Indian Parliament) on August 4, has been referred to the
Standing Committee on August 8 by Rajya Sabha(Upper House)
Chairman Hamid Ansari who has given it three months to give
recommendations.
Talking to reporters after nearly two-and-a-half hours
of meeting, Prashant Bhushan and Kejriwal said they asked the
Committee to recommend to the government to withdraw the
Lokpal Bill.
"The bill is designed to deter complainants from making
complaints against corruption. It is designed to harass NGOs
which are raising voice against corruption in government,"
Bhushan said.
Meanwhile, a member of Hazare's core team Swami Agnivesh
today created flutters by saying they were "very very
flexible" on issues like bringing Prime Minister or higher
judiciary under the ambit of the ombudsman, but sticking to
the point of including lower bureaucracy in it.
When Kejriwal was asked to react on the statement of
Agnivesh made in a TV programme, he did not say anything.
Contending that the Lokpal Bill does not deal with
problems of corruption faced by common people, Bhushan said
the bill needs to be "comprehensively rejected by the Standing
Committee and recommend the same to the government."
He said the government should bring a fresh bill which is
"structurally sound" and helps create an empowered,
independent and accountable Lokpal.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, who is a
member of the Standing Committee, said the panel will call
several other people willing to place suggestions on the
Lokpal Bill.
"Yes, even Baba Ramdev will be called," he said in reply
to a question, indicating that the August 16 deadline by
Hazare for the committee to take a decision was no practical.
Wednesday's was the first meeting of the committee on
Lokpal Bill.
Kejriwal said the scope of the government bill is the
creation of a Lokpal alone and Lokayukta at the State level.
Answering a volley of questions on his proposed
agitation, Hazare said if a bill "to provide justice to the
people does not come," his August 16 fast will continue.
"If things happen by 16th, then the agitation will stop,"
he said referring to the demand of his team to the Committee
to recommend to the government to withdraw the Lokpal Bill.
He said his agitation was not against Parliament but
government as it has "cheated" his team by not fulfilling
assurances made during the meetings of the Joint Drafting
Committee.
Bedi told Committee members that they should rise above
political affiliations before taking a decision on the Bill.
"We asked them to listen to what their voters have to say on
the bill," she said.