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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | ‘Monopoly’ upsets Cong by Sanjay K Jha

‘Monopoly’ upsets Cong by Sanjay K Jha

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published Published on Apr 20, 2011   modified Modified on Apr 20, 2011
Many Congress leaders feel that it was improper for Anna Hazare and his group to act as the sole conscience keepers of the civil society.

The leaders are wondering if Anna Hazare’s letter to Sonia Gandhi, asking her to rein in Kapil Sibal and Digvijay Singh, was prompted by a perception that the Congress duo were expressing views on subjects the activists had monopolised on.

Sibal had apparently said in an informal chat with journalists that Hazare’s aide Arvind Kejriwal had mellowed while Digvijay articulated his views on issues such as the Lok Pal Bill and corruption.

Congress sources said Sonia didn’t intend to reply to Hazare’s letter as there was no point in engaging in a debate with a self-appointed group which didn’t have the people’s mandate. “An extraordinary situation had evolved at Jantar Mantar when Hazare went on a fast-unto-death and hence Sonia and the Prime Minister wrote to him. That doesn’t mean he was legitimised as an alternative force,” a senior leader said.

Speculation was rife that Sonia had asked Digvijay not to speak any further on this subject after she received the complaint from Hazare but the senior leaders rubbished this impression.

Digvijay, who indeed didn’t speak on the issues involved since yesterday, has done this out of his own choice. He has overwhelming support within the party for having forcefully expressed his views over the last few days, the Congress sources said.

Many Congress leaders feel Hazare’s presumption that only civil society people would speak out betrayed his poor understanding of democracy.

The Congress leaders point out that Kejriwal had yesterday questioned the integrity of top ministers in a television debate while defending Shanti Bhusan, his colleague in the joint drafting committee.

Kejriwal had asked: “Is Pranab Mukherjee honest? Is Chidambaram not corrupt? Is Salman Khurshid honest? Is Kapil Sibal honest? Is Veerappa Moily honest?”

Many Congress leaders express deep anguish at such outbursts and wanted to know from Hazare if this was less objectionable than senior leaders freely debating substantive issues.

One Congress MP, lamenting that the government and the party’s leadership had created a difficult situation themselves, said: “Hazare is behaving as a superbody and the sole custodian of moral values. In fact, this group has become worse than a khap panchayat. But we have to face it as we caved in to an artificial movement.” Many younger Congress leaders share this perception.

But there are also many leaders in the Congress who admit that the extraordinary situation had developed because of the circumstances prevailing in the country for the past six months.

A senior Congress minister said: “The Hazare campaign got popular support because of the hostile climate the government was living in. The 2G scandal was in itself too bad to handle but the Commonwealth Games loot came as a huge jolt. Then Adarsh Society scam came up. Then came the CVC case in the Supreme Court, which gave legitimacy to the impression that the government was soft on corruption. Against this backdrop, we had to give in to Hazare’s unconstitutional demands.”

These leaders pointed out that a “fix-them” approach won’t do. The government should create a better environment through steps to ensure good governance, tough actions and firmer laws. “The situation has to be defused and that will take time. Till then, these abnormal pressures will continue to work,” a minister said.

The Telegraph, 20 April, 2011, http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110420/jsp/nation/story_13877372.jsp


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