Govt's Lokpal draft is a joke on the nation: Anna Hazare

Raising a question on Manmohan Singh’s honesty, Anna Hazare and his team on Monday demanded the Prime Minister that their Jan Lokpal Bill be placed before Parliament as the “government’s draft is weak”.

They also announced their plan to hold a referendum on the Jan Lokpal Bill in Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal’s Lok Sabha constituency — Chandni Chowk — from July 21.

In a letter to the Prime Minister that highlights the shortcomings of the government’s Lokpal draft, Hazare said: “The draft prepared by the five ministers is a joke played on the nation. The scope of the draft is so confined that it does not address the corruption faced by the common man.”

Hazare also reiterated his plan to go on an indefinite fast if the government comes out with a weak draft.

Meanwhile, Swami Agnivesh, member of Anna’s team, questioned Manmohan Singh’s honesty, saying that he was elected to the Rajya Sabha showing himself as a resident of Assam.

He said: “You got elected from Assam. You (Singh) are not from Assam. The PM talks about honesty. What kind of honesty is this?”

Reacting to statements of some leaders that his fast would get a “treatment” similar to the one meted out to Ramdev’s protest — the Delhi Police cracked down the meeting at night —  Hazare said: “Statements like these are against the Constitution which gives everyone the right to protest peacefully.”

On their plan to hold referendum in Sibal’s constituency, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal said: “We have printed seven lakh questionnaires which will be distributed to every house in Chandni Chowk. They will be collected after two days.”

Kejriwal said: “If the majority of people in his (Sibal’s) constituency ask for the Jan Lokpal Bill what will he do? Will he follow people’s wishes or go by his party high command?”