Team Anna members on Tuesday stoutly defended their colleague Kiran Bedi against whom a privilege notice has been given in Parliament for allegedly using objectionable language against MPs during activist Anna Hazare's agitation here on the Jan Lokpal Bill issue.
Declaring that they were “solidly behind her,” two core members of Team Anna, Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal, said Ms. Bedi did not say anything that could be termed as breach of privilege. “She will respond to the notice as and when it is received. We are solidly behind her,” Mr. Kejriwal told journalists.
Claiming that privilege notices could be issued against him and Mr. Kejriwal as well, Mr. Bhushan said that if that was done then “people might perceive that MPs are thinking that our fight is against them because we talk about their corruption. People will think this is the lawmakers' way of getting back at us.”
Mr. Bhushan and Mr. Kejriwal, who met Abhishek Singhvi, Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel and Law and Justice that is scrutinising the Lokpal Bill, said they would make a presentation on the Jan Lokpal Bill by next month. They had met Mr. Singhvi to seek clarity on the timeline and the procedure to be followed on the Bill.
They “ideally” wanted the Bill to be finalised in a month and, if necessary, considered and passed by a special session of Parliament, but were informed that all efforts would be made to ready a comprehensive and strong Bill by the end of October. The Bill is expected to be presented to Parliament in the winter session.
“We sought the meeting to find out about the timeline and the procedure that will be followed. We were told that we would be called by September-end to make a presentation on the Jan Lokpal Bill. Till then the panel would have heard all other groups and considered all Bills, we were informed,” Mr. Kejriwal told The Hindu after the meeting.
The committee has already put out advertisements seeking comments and suggestions on the Lokpal Bill that has been introduced in Parliament and referred to it.
In addition, the panel will also now consider the “Sense of the House'' agreement “in principle” on the three demands put forth by activist Anna Hazare to call of his indefinite fast on the Ramlila grounds. These were — providing for the setting up of Lokayuktas in the Lokpal Bill, citizens' charters in government departments for time-bound delivery of services and inclusion of lower bureaucracy in the Bill.
On being asked about the Delhi police claim in their closure report that the audio CD regarding lawyer Shanti Bhushan's purported conversation with Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh was “genuine,” Mr. Prashant Bhushan said it was unfortunate that there were repeated smear campaigns to try and discredit core members.
“To try and show differences between Anna Hazare and members of the team... all these tactics appear to have been adopted by sections of the ruling establishment and the government,” he said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday sent a bouquet and a ‘get well soon' message to Mr. Hazare, who is recuperating in a private hospital in Gurgaon after he broke his 12-day fast.
Mr. Hazare is expected to be discharged on Thursday. He will head a meeting of his core group at his village, Ralegaon Siddhi, in Maharashtra on September 10 and 11 to chalk out plans.
