Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday said Anna Hazare was challenging the constitutional authority of Parliament. Calling it unacceptable, he indicated that the administration would intervene in the event of the social activist going on an indefinite fast.
His remarks came two days ahead of the proposed fast to be undertaken by Mr. Hazare and his supporters on the Lokpal Bill issue.
Mr. Mukherjee said Parliament alone was the competent authority to make laws and none could compel it to draft a law as per their desire.
“It is for Parliament to decide [on framing laws] and what Anna Hazare is doing is challenging the constitutional authority of Parliament, which is not acceptable,” he said.
As for the fast that Mr. Hazare intends to go on from Tuesday, Mr. Mukherjee said: “We shall have to keep in mind that in an indefinite hunger strike, the legal connotation of which I do not know, nobody in our society as per our law is allowed to commit suicide. It is the responsibility of the administration to look into these aspects.”
Mr. Hazare said in New Delhi on Saturday that he had received a letter from the Delhi police asking him to submit an undertaking that the agitation would be limited to three days and that not more than 4,000 to 5,000 people would assemble at the venue of his protest. He had ruled out his doing so.
On Mr. Hazare's opposition to the restrictions imposed, Mr. Mukherjee said: “We have given a venue to Anna Hazare. It may or may not be liked by him. But the fact of the matter is there are certain places where we do not allow people to come and congregate.”
Giving instances, he named areas in the vicinity of Writers' Buildings (the State Secretariat here) and the West Bengal Assembly as areas where prohibitory orders under Section 144 Cr.PC are perpetually in force.
