Social activist Anna Hazare, who has been camping in New Delhi to convince top leaders of political parties for a strong Lokpal bill ahead of an all-party meeting called by the government here on July 3, will meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Thursday in a bid to try to persuade her that the Prime Minister should be included in the bill.
“Annaji will meet Soniaji at 11 am on Thursday,” said his aide on Wednesday night. He added that Mr Hazare will also meet BJP leader L.K. Advani and Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj on Saturday and later call on the Left leaders in this regard.
Mr Hazare said, “We will meet all parties... We will meet Sonia Gandhi on Thursday and ask her if the Prime Minister is saying so, then what is the problem.”
He said the incumbent Prime Minister is an honest man. “The Union Cabinet belong to India, the people in the Cabinet are our people. Then what is the problem in taking the decision? They should be able to take it for the country.”
Mr Hazare’s response came as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh remarked to top editors during an interaction that he had no hesitation in bringing himself under the purview of the Lokpal but many of his Cabinet colleagues feel that bringing the institution of Prime Minister under it will create instability.
Mr Hazare met Rashtriya Lok Dal chief Ajit Singh during the day. The meeting lasted nearly 90 minutes. “acchi baat hui “ Mr Singh said. While appreciating Mr Hazare’s campaign against corruption and for a strong Lokpal bill, he said his party has yet to take a view whether the PM should be brought under the purview of the Lokpal.
Political parties, especially the Opposition parties are likely to be noncommittal to any proposal of the government during the all-party meeting. “Why should we commit to any draft Lokpal bill. Let the government place it in Parliament and then send to the standing committee,” an Opposition party leader said.
While the Opposition parties do not want the corruption issue to get diluted, which has cornered the government, the Congress-led coalition and its ministers are questioning the locus standi of the civil society group led by Mr Hazare after working with it in the joint committee set up to draft the bill.
Among the UPA, the DMK has supported the inclusion of the PM in the Lokpal but the AIADMK, the Akali Dal have opposed it. The stand of the BSP, the Samajwadi Party on this issue will be interesting in the sense that they have been backing the Centre from outside. The TDP, JD(U), JD(S) are in favour of brining the PM under the ambit of the Lokpal.
Meanwhile, CWC member and AICC in-charge for Tripura, Sikkim, Manipur and Nagaland, Luizinho Faleiro on Wednesday charged Mr Hazare and Baba Ramdev with having a “hidden agenda” to destabilise the Congress-led UPA government at the Centre.