Anna Hazare targets Govt, to sit on fast today

New Delhi: Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare has returned to the national capital for what will be his third fast on the Lokpal issue for the year. Anna will sit on a one-day token fast at Jantar Mantar on Sunday.

Anna is expected to first pay a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat before beginning his fast at Jantar Mantar. He is expected to break his fast at 5 pm.

Slamming the Parliamentary Standing Committee report, Anna has reiterated his demands for the inclusion of the lower bureaucracy and merging the CBI with the Lokpal and now he has invited the leaders of all political parties to participate in an open debate to state their stands.

All political parties except the UPA allies have agreed to join debate in public on the Lokpal issue at Jantar Mantar. NDA leaders Arun Jaitley and Sharad Yadav and CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat are expected to participate in the debate.

While Anna will fast in Delhi, his supporters will hold simultaneous protests in Mumbai, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore and seven other cities.

Meanwhile, the government has gone into a damage control mode and is likely to call an all-party meeting on Wednesday to evolve a consensus on the issue in Parliament. Team Anna says the debate at Jantar Mantar will be unlike the chaotic scenes in Parliament and will be without any adjournments.

Congress spokesperson Janardhan Dwivedi has accused Anna and his team of going against the Constitution by holding a debate outside Parliament.

"I think it is not correct to hold public debates on an issue as the Ombudsman Bill without a ruling on it in the proceedings of the parliament. Anna Hazare and his associates is trying to go against the constitution and parliament by holding any such debate," Dwivedi said.

"If the government does not pass the Lokpal Bill by December 22, I will launch an agitation in the poll bound states," Anna had said earlier.

"The standing committee has even crippled the CBI and reduced the Lokpal to a post office," said Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal.

Team Anna Member Kiran Bedi said, "I think this is the first time you have an event of the kind where it's like an open debate outside Parliament, near Parliament, but outside with no adjournments."

Anna plans to go on another agitation from December 27 if the government does not pass the Lokpal Bill which matches his proposed Jan Lokpal Bill.

In August this year, Anna's 13-days fast broke the government's earlier strong stand against Team Anna. It also exposed the weakness of the UPA II and the series of flip-flops in its response to Anna.

After sending Anna to Tihar jail and trying to talk tough with him the government was forced to bend.

The huge crowds defying the government's expectations and with several social activists supporting Anna, the government changed track and former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was roped in as a interlocutor. Anna agreed to call of his 13 day fast but not before the government was forced to move a resolution in Parliament.

The resolution said, the House agrees 'in principle' on following issues - (i) Citizen's Charter, (ii) lower bureaucracy under Lokpal through an appropriate mechanism, and (iii) establishment of Lokayukta in the States.

And further resolves to forward the proceedings of the House to the Standing Committee on Law and Justice while finalising its report.

The standing committee headed by Abhishek Manu Singhvi met Team Anna, other social activists, CBI, but the report finally tabled by it on Friday has failed to please Team Anna as well as the Opposition.

In the past five months Team Anna has kept the pressure on the government whether through referendums in Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's constituencies or by campaigning against the congress in bypolls in Hisar.

The defeat of the Congress in Hisar bypolls was used by Team Anna to accuse it of being incompetent. It was also followed by a series of similar movements by Baba Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

The war of words between Team Anna and the government has intensified over the past months and is likely to get worse.

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