Social activist Anna Hazare came out strongly against the government's Citizens' Charter bill on Tuesday, calling it a “weak structure” and “a way to disorient the people”.
Stating that going by the government's behaviour, even the Lokpal Bill will not be satisfactory to Team Anna, Mr. Hazare announced that he will fast for three days from December 27. A jail bharo andolan will be launched on December 30, he said, speaking to reporters in Ralegan Siddhi along with team member Arvind Kejriwal.
Mr. Kejriwal stated that the fast will be held in Mumbai.
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The Right of Citizens for Time Bound Delivery of Goods and Services and Redressal of their Grievances Bill was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. It calls for every government public authority or government department to publish a Citizens' Charter that lists all the services that the department has to render along with timelines.
Team Anna had demanded that the ‘Citizens' Charter' be made a part of the Lokpal Bill — one of the demands that were given an ‘in principle' approval by the Parliament in August this year. By introducing it as a separate bill, Team Anna feels that it was cheated. “It has been proven once again that the government's character is not clean,” Mr. Hazare said.
“We condemn this attitude of the government,” he said, adding that he would then tour the five poll-bound States.
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“We are repeatedly told by the government that we are disrespecting the Parliament, whereas now they are doing exactly the same thing,” Mr. Hazare said.
Stating that the Bill is not “decentralised,” Mr. Kejriwal said this structure would “collapse in three days.”
“It is clear from this Bill that the government will not keep its promise on the Lokpal Bill as well. The government is blind: it cannot see the injustice being done to the people,” Mr Hazare said.