Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 150
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 151
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 148]
Warning (2): Cannot modify header information - headers already sent by (output started at /home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php:853) [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 181]
LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Lokpal Bill: Sparks fly at anti-graft debate

Lokpal Bill: Sparks fly at anti-graft debate

Share this article Share this article
published Published on Dec 3, 2011   modified Modified on Dec 3, 2011

-The Times of India

 

Even as tension mounts in Delhi over an impending face-off between the Centre and members of India Aganist Corruption on the anti-graft bill, the heat spilled over to Kolkata on Saturday evening.

Sparks flew at the Calcutta Club National Debate presented by The Times of India in association with Ambuja Realty, as Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi sparred with Union law minister Salman Khurshid over the bill's provisions. The debate was supported by Vennfer and powered by Concast Maxx.

BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad, CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury and Shekhar Singh of National Campaign for People's Right to Information made timely interjections with the audience joining in too with ayes and nays as they supported or dissented with a point made on stage.

Speaking on the motion "In the demand for a strong Lokpal, does the end justify the means", Team Anna members Kejriwal and Bedi were scathing in their attack on Khurshid and the Congress for reneging on the commitment to introduce a strong Lokpal Bill.

Bedi kicked off the debate with a blow by blow account of how the Centre had time and again failed to meet the commitments made to Team Anna. Though the Union law minister attempted to strike a conciliatory note and urged Team Anna to trust the government and assured that a strong Lokpal Bill would be introduced, she rejected it outright. "You want us to trust you when the bill has failed to see the light of the day for decades?" Bedi countered. "If we relent now, we will let the people of the country and ourselves down. The country will get a dud bill. If Congress wants to come back to power in the next general election, it can pass the bill. If the opposition wants to come to power, it can reject a weak bill. And there is a third option: people can exercise their choice," the former IPS officer said.

In the face of unrelenting criticism, Khurshid shot back. "Don't think that only you can bring people to the streets. Congress has lakhs of supporters who can also descend on the streets. So has BJP and the communist parties," he said.

"This is exactly what we fear," remarked Sekhar Singh, whose was the most moderate voice in the debate. "There is too much confrontation between the two sides with neither willing to budge. I agree to much of what Arvind has to say about politicians. But I have a problem with the way the movement against corruption is moving forward, questioning democratic traditions, values and institutions. There are ways to strength the fight against corruption and also strengthen our democracy," he reasoned.

Prasad admitted politicians needed to raise the bar of accountability in Parliament. "The Lokpal Bill has been hanging for 42 years. We politicians cannot be so lethargic," he said. Agreed Yechury. "I was involved in four drafts and it fell through on each occasion," he said. They both sat on the fence, "enjoying the Congress's discomfiture" as moderator Arnab Goswami pointed out. When the motion was put to vote, it failed to elicit a verdict. But the audience had enjoyed the evening thoroughly.

The Times of India, 4 December, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Lokpal-Bill-Sparks-fly-at-anti-graft-debate/articleshow/10975529.cms


Related Articles

 

Write Comments

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

Video Archives

Archives

share on Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Feedback
Read Later

Contact Form

Please enter security code
      Close