Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh has questioned the “huge” funding for social activist Anna Hazare's hunger strike in New Delhi to demand a Lokpal Bill, and asked whether politicians were uncivilised and could not be members of civil society.
Speaking at the Press Club here on Saturday, he claimed that Rs.50 lakh was spent on Mr. Hazare's four-day agitation at Jantar Mantar. “When we demanded that it should be brought out how much money was spent for organising Mr. Hazare's hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar … and who helped it financially, we were told that Rs.82 lakh was raised from the corporate sector,” he said.
“If civil society people spent Rs.50 lakh for the four-day agitation at Jantar Mantar, then why are they after politicians, telling them to meet the expenditures for contesting the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections within a limit,” he asked.
ADVERTISEMENT
Mr. Singh said the task of finalising the draft of the Bill could not be left to a few members of civil society. “If Anna Hazare and his associates think that whatever they decide in the name of civil society is sacrosanct, it is not acceptable.”
He wondered why only select members of civil society were included in the joint drafting committee. “Are politicians uncivilised? Can't they be members of civil society?”
Mr. Singh suggested that the committee invite representatives of all political parties to discuss the Bill and ponder over how the corporate sector and non-governmental organisations could be brought under the ambit of the Lokpal.
ADVERTISEMENT
He said it could not be expected that the draft finalised by the civil society members would be accepted in toto . “How can anyone take away the rights of the elected representatives?”
Mr. Hazare, he said, was a nice man but in the grip of some who were using him.
Asked whether politicians were afraid of Mr. Hazare, Mr. Singh said: “Not at all. I used to touch his feet and will do so in future also. But we will not accept his view that all politicians and voters are dishonest.”