Monday, July 18, 2011: Questioning Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s honesty, the Anna Hazare team on Monday raised its pitch on the Lokpal Bill demanding that its version be placed before Parliament, saying that the “weak” government draft was a “joke” played on the nation.
Hazare stood firm on his threat to go on indefinite fast from August 16 and announced that a referendum will be conducted from July 21 in Chandni Chowk Lok Sabha constituency from where HRD Minister Kapil Sibal was elected.
The Gandhian also sent a letter to the Prime Minister seeking to punch holes in the government’s stand on the anti-corruption law and alleging that the Centre and state governments were pointing fingers at each other to avoid a strong institution to fight corruption.
“The government’s draft prepared by the five ministers in the joint drafting committee is a joke played on the nation. The scope of the draft is so confined that it does not address the corruption faced by common man,” Hazare said in the letter to Singh.
Referring to reported statements that his protest will meet the same fate as that of yoga guru Ramdev, he said it was “not right” for anyone to talk like that as it is one’s fundamental right to protest.
Swami Agnivesh, a core member of the Hazare team, sought to question Singh’s honesty, saying that he was elected to the Rajya Sabha after being shown as a resident of Assam after renting a room in the house of former Chief Minister Hiteshwar Saikia.
“You (Singh) got elected from Assam saying you are a resident of the state. You are not from Assam. You are from Punjab. Prime Minister talks about honesty. What is this, honesty?” Agnivesh said.
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