Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani has said the draft Lokpal Bill, to be finalised by the joint committee of Ministers and nominees of social activist Anna Hazare should be passed in the monsoon session of Parliament.
In his latest blog entry, ‘The Anna Hazare Episode,' Mr. Advani said he made the suggestion when Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee apprised him of the government's talks with Mr. Hazare's representatives.
The senior BJP leader said Mr. Mukherjee had told him that the government had assured Mr. Hazare, who had gone on a hunger strike in support of his demand, that the Lokpal Bill, as drafted by the proposed committee, would be introduced during the monsoon session and his response was that it should be passed in that session.
“Even if the Bill is to be referred to the Standing Committee, it can be finalised and passed. Everyone is keen that there should be no delay in tackling corruption. In fact, the government should be conscious that the dimensions of corruption have become so frightening that the assault on this malady has to be multi-pronged.
“A meeting of political parties should be convened to discuss this issue, particularly in the context of black money and curbing money power in elections,” Mr. Advani wrote.
He argued that the Opposition parties had ample justification to hold that it was their protest during the last winter session of Parliament against a series of scams that triggered a ‘jana andolan' led by Mr. Hazare.
Mr. Advani said that when he first met Baba Ramdev at the Kumbh Mela at Hardwar, he pondered how his mastery of Yogasanas could contribute to the health of a common man irrespective of age. This, combined with the impact of television, had made Baba Ramdev a rare phenomenon.
“In Anna Hazare's case, TV has been replaced by IT and it has made the 73-year-old veteran ex-serviceman another icon not just for the country but for Indians around the globe.”
Mr. Advani maintained that the series of scams that had surfaced in recent months and their cost dimensions for the country had created a feeling of intense anger against the establishment.
“Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare are widely perceived as upright persons who have no personal axe to grind. By taking up a campaign against corruption they have become natural recipients of public acclaim.”
Climate of disdain
Referring to Mr. Hazare's followers asking Uma Bharti and Om Prakash Chauthala to leave the fast venue and the subsequent apology by Mr. Hazare to them, Mr. Advani said: “I am of the view that those who revel in spreading a general climate of disdain about politics and politicians are doing a gross disservice to democracy. Despite the shortcomings of Indian democracy we still have conscientious and upright politicians in the country and it is they who still give people optimism and confidence for the future.”
