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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | UPA isolated as key opposition parties flock to Anna Hazare meet by Himanshi Dhawan

UPA isolated as key opposition parties flock to Anna Hazare meet by Himanshi Dhawan

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published Published on Dec 11, 2011   modified Modified on Dec 11, 2011

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare made an impactful return to the "anshan-andolan (fasting-protest)" arena on Sunday, drawing an enthusiastic and youthful crowd to Jantar Mantar and rallying major non-Congress parties to his cause.

Three months after his epic 13-day fast at Ramlila Maidan, the response to Anna's seven-hour protest is proof that the Gandhian has not lost traction with popular sentiment despite his now familiar anti-government announcements. He also succeeded in splitting the ruling Congress from BJP, Left and several regional parties.

Congress leaders remained the target of the agitationists while UPA partners like Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee were questioned over their silence on Lokpal in contrast to vocal opposition to foreign investment in retail.

If government managers were hoping that Hazare's appeal would have become stale, their task seems to have become more challenging with the Gandhian's demand for a strong and independent Lokpal being backed by political leaders including BJP's Arun Jaitley, CPM's Brinda Karat and Shiromani Akali Dal's S S Dhindsa.

Leaders, including CPI's A B Bardhan, however drew a line, saying civil society should not arrogate to itself the power to create a parallel Parliament. He did not mince words when he warned Team Anna against branding as "corrupt" all those who disagreed with them. But the mood of the leaders was one of concurrence as anti-Congress parties backed Team Anna.

Jaitley agreed the nitty-gritty of the law be left to Parliament. He said there was wide political consensus over key demands of Team Anna. "We all agree that there should be a strong and effective Lokpal and we will do our best to make it happen. But details on specific issues should be left to Parliament for discussion," he said.

The reluctance to be drawn into debating details of some of Hazare's demands that are problematic to implement could have stemmed from an estimated 18,000-strong crowd that had little patience for politicians putting forward nuanced arguments beyond the Jan Lokpal script.

The Sunday show is a precursor to an eight-day fast Hazare is planning from December 27. It comes ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh consulting allies and meeting all political parties this week. It can add to the pressure on government to make more concessions on the Lokpal bill while opposition is not going to give the Centre an easy passage.

The successful return of the Gandhian to the Capital was embellished by the presence of Left and Samajwadi Party, who have "secular" sensitivities, and this seems to have rejected the theory that Hazare's campaign was remote controlled by RSS. Congress and other UPA allies kept away from the political debate saying it was too premature to discuss the bill.

But with other political parties assuring Hazare of their support in Parliament, the government's attempt to create a Team Anna vs Parliament divide appears to have failed. Most of the leaders concurred with Hazare's demands for inclusion of prime minister, lower bureaucracy and CBI's anti-corruption wing under Lokpal but they did not favour bringing higher judiciary under the ombudsman and argued for a separate mechanism to check corruption in it.

The popular sentiment that CBI is misused for political gains was echoed by Jaitley and Karat while JD(U)'s Sharad Yadav went a step further to admit that the NDA government too had used the investigating agency to score political points.

Besides Jaitley, Yadav, Bardhan and Karat, others who spoke in support were CPI's D Raja, TDP's K Yerran Naidu, Pinaki Mishra (BJD), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP) and S S Dhindsa (Akali Dal). INLD also sent a nominee with a letter of support.

Jaitley said not including the lower bureaucracy and citizens' charter would be a betrayal of a resolution adopted by Parliament while Karat wanted big corporate houses to be brought under Lokpal. "They (private companies) will have to be brought under Lokpal. The corporates are looting the country and they should be under the body."

The day-long fast saw a familiar round of Congress bashing with leaders like Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi, PM Manmohan Singh, home minister P Chidambaram and HRD minister Kapil Sibal being familiar targets.

The tongue lashing, however, continued to be met with resounding applause and cheers, indicating that Team Anna's sheen had not dulled. Hazare targeted the PM, saying he was "not able to take decisions" and there were "three-four people" who thought they were prime ministers, but did not take any name.

He also attacked Rahul, saying "spending one day in a hut is just not enough" for him to aspire to be prime minister.

Hazare urged the opposition to join his agitation for a strong Lokpal if they did not have the numbers to correct the government in Parliament. "If government hesitates in passing a strong Lokpal bill or rejects your suggestions and if you (opposition) fall short of numbers, we can do one thing. The people are here with us," Hazare said.

"You can join us with all your parties and partymen and come to the streets for a larger campaign. Let us see how the government does not do it. We will ensure that no jail in the country remains empty, such will be our campaign," Hazare said after political leaders put their views on the issue.

The Times of India, 12 December, 2011, http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/UPA-isolated-as-key-opposition-parties-flock-to-Anna-Hazare-meet/articleshow/11074925.cms


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