Author: Himanshi Dhawan
Publication: The Times of India
Date: August 20, 2011
URL: http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-08-20/india/29908807_1_team-anna-lokpal-bill-anna-hazare
Emboldened by the swelling crowds at Ramlila
Maidan, Gandhian anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare upped the ante within
hours of emerging from Tihar Jail on Friday. He set a three-week deadline
for Parliament to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill, pending which he wouldn't budge
from the ground. This was not only contrary to his group's commitment to vacate
the protest site by August 31, but was also seen to be brushing aside parliamentary
processes as no such deadline is set for standing committees to study draft
legislations in detail.
The ultimatum marks a hardening of stand which
could queer the pitch for negotiations and a settlement to the dramatic face-off.
While Team Anna has insisted on the Lokpal Bill being passed in the monsoon
session ending September 8, it had refrained from setting a deadline for the
passage of their version of the bill, maintaining that they respected Parliament
and would abide by its decision.
Anna also gave a call for a jail-bharo campaign
if the deadline was not met. Although his associate Prashant Bhushan said
they were open to negotiations with the government, the ultimatum narrows
the scope of a settlement. Taken by surprise by the groundswell of support
for Anna, government leaders seemed inclined to wait out Anna's protest, reckoning
that it would be difficult for his team to sustain this level of popular support.
Addressing the media at Ramlila Maidan, the
74-year-old Anna said: "I have made the decision of my life. It is up
to the government to pass the (Jan Lokpal) bill. If it is not passed in this
session, I will continue my fast till my last breath." The pledge drew
huge applause from his growing band of supporters. His aide Arvind Kejriwal
brazenly declared the group's lack of faith in parliamentary democracy. "Parliament
is not supreme, the public is," he said. "It's our right to raise
our voice against corruption and the elected representatives must hear it."
Asked if the three-week deadline was not
impractical, Anna shot back that it was the government's headache. "They
have the majority in Parliament and it is up to them to see how they get the
bill passed," he said.
There is, however, a view that two private
member's bills - introduced by BJP's Varun Feroze Gandhi in Lok Sabha and
independent member Rajiv Chandrashekhar in Rajya Sabha -- can offer a way
out.
Varun plans to move the Jan Lokpal Bill as
his bill, while Chandrashekhar's bill has incorporated features of civil society's
version of the legislation.
Since the grouse of the civil society is
that Parliament won't get to debate the merits of their bill, the two private
members' bills can give the two Houses an opportunity to assess the merits
of the two rival pieces of legislation, potentially clearing the way for a
resolution.
However, procedures and conventions may come
in the way. A private member's bill can be introduced in the House only after
a month's notice. While Varun Gandhi hasn't yet formally sought the Speaker's
permission to move the bill, Chandrashekhar submitted his bill in the first
week of August. So, neither has a month's time to be taken up for adoption
in this session. Still, extraordinary situations often lead to "creative"
solutions. Perhaps, with the House's permission, the process may be fast-tracked.
Prashant Bhushan told the media: "We
are not afraid of discussions. If somebody from the government wants to discuss,
we have no problems. But we are not ready to compromise on corruption."
Kejriwal added that nobody from the government
has approached them so far for discussions.