While Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar supports anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare's demand for the electorate's ‘Right to recall' legislators in principle, he is more cautious about Mr. Hazare's ‘Right to reject' demand.
“A wider debate on this issue [right to reject] is required...only then will I be in any position to comment on it,” he told reporters journalists here.
Being a follower of socialist stalwart Jayaprakash Narayan, Mr. Kumar said he supported the right to recall in principle. Mr. Hazare's demands have generally found strong backing in Bihar with Mr. Kumar expressing his enthusiastic support for the anti-corruption crusader in the past. This is interesting as the two main parties, the Congress and the BJP, have expressed their discomfiture over Mr. Hazare's demands seeking electoral reform.
While Mr. Kumar's Janata Dal (United) has an alliance with the BJP in Bihar, JD(U)'s national president Sharad Yadav has denounced in Parliament Mr. Hazare's actions and views the ant-corruption activist in a different light.
The Chief Minister also saw no reason for a delay in the introduction of the Lokpal Bill during the coming winter session of Parliament, stating it had enough support inside and outside the House.
Mr. Kumar is to kick-off his own anti-corruption ‘Sewa Yatra' in the State from November 9. The three-month campaign across Bihar is being undertaken to assess the ground-level impact of development and anti-corruption schemes instituted by the State government.
