Hazare crisis: Errors of judgement but" no mistakes"

New Delhi, Aug 28 (PTI) Law Minister Salman Khurshid, a
key negotiator with Team Anna, Sunday maintained that
Government made "no mistakes" in tackling Anna Hazare's 12-day
fast but admitted there were "errors of judgement".
Describing the situation arising out of Hazare's stir
for a strong Lokpal bill(anti-corruption ombudsman) as
complex, very sensitive and an unique experience for the
Government, Khurshid also rejected suggestions that senior
Ministers P Chidamabram and Kapil Sibal were "discredited" for
their handling of the crisis and had to be withdrawn from
negotiations.
"Errors of judgement have been made, errors of judgement
are made whenever you are involved in a difficult situation.
Errors of judgement are not mistakes", Khurshid told CNN-IBN
on Karan Thapar's "Devil's Advocate" programme.
"We made no mistakes. What we did may not have turned
out to be the way it should. May be our calculation and
anticipation turned out to be not what we thought it to be.
But I am not prepared to admit we made mistakes," said
Khurshid, who was part of Government's negotiating team headed
by Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Defending the way the government handled the Hazare
agitation, he said, "It is courage of conviction. It is faith
in yourselves. We are not pushovers. We might have made errors
of judgment. We may have lost ground somewhere but we are
determined to get that ground back."
Asked whether he is saying that the government has made
no mistakes, a combative Khurshid said, "The outcome of what
you did depends on how you define a mistake. A mistake is to
do something that you should not be doing."
To repeated queries whether government committed mistakes
in tackling the situation, he said, "Ask me 100 times, my
answer will be the same."
He further said, "It is very sensitive, complex
situation that has just unfolded into a good resolution."
"It is faith and confidence and I believe we do
not want the government to be kicked around...It is the best
possible resolution by Parliament," he added.

Khurshid said Hazare's fast will add to "our
understanding and knowledge of mass movement in the 21st
century".
When told that Home Minister P Chidamabram and HRD
Minister Kapil Sibal had become hate figures at Ramlila Maidan
and that key Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal even refused to
speak to them, Khurshid defended his cabinet colleagues.
"They were involved at a very difficult stage. They
have to take difficult calls. There was intransigence on both
sides particularly on the other side," he said.
However, Khurshid did not agree they were withdrawn from
handling the agitation. "They were never withdrawn. Nobody was
withdrwan. They did what was required to do.
"You may not be popular with the crowd at a particular
moment. I am not prepared to accept that they were
discredited."
To charges of negligence on part of the government to
handle the crisis which kept the country traumatised for 13
days, Khurshid said, "It was a unique experience. I do believe
it was important not just for us to act alone but to get every
big political party and major political parties on board and I
think this is what we achieved in the end. It is the result
that matters."
When told that majority of people believed that
goverment mishandled the situation he said, "This was not a
blame game or acceptance of post mortem. We are very carefully
step by step trying to understand a complicated situation."
On Anna Hazare, he said, "We have reached out to a
remarkable man, remarkable movement and we want the movement
to go forward and give India a much better scheme of things.
We are determined it will happen."