Lokpal BIll: Jail Bharo, Says Anna Hazare Amid Fears Of His Eviction

From Breakthrough To Breakdown

Encouraged By All-Party Assertion That Parliament Is Supreme, UPA Hardens Stand 

New Delhi: Blow hot, blow cold. In fact, the breeze that wafted from the government turned so icy on Wednesday that it threatened to virtually deep-freeze the talks between it and Team Anna. Assurances held out on Tuesday were withdrawn and concern for Anna's health was dismissed, said Team Anna members, while government leaders told them that the parliamentary process wouldn't be shortened to rush through the Lokpal Bill. 

    Hopes of a resolution to the standoff dipped sharply as there was no movement on the sticking points. The allparty meeting appears to have emboldened the government as it merely appealed to Anna Hazare to call off his fast while clarifying that the government should not rush through an amended Lokpal Bill. On its part, the government agreed to replace the current bill with a new legislation, incorporating some features of Team Anna's Jan Lokpal Bill. 
    Meanwhile, police presence has been sharply increased at the Ramlila Maidan, raising fears of the Gandhian being forcibly removed from the grounds. Kejriwal expressed the fears while appealing to the people to maintain peace. Government sources, too, admitted that some "intervention" might become inevitable. 
    Late at night at 11.30pm, Anna addressed the vast crowd, repeatedly urging it to ensure peace. He said if the government wanted to pick him up, he would readily submit to the authorities. Any violence, he said, would defeat their movement. He told his followers to embark on a "jail bharo" agitation if he was arrested and peacefully picket government leaders and parliamentarians. 
    Speaking at an iftaar he hosted, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told journalists, "We are caught in a bind, and we have to get out of it." 
    Government sources asserted that the Jan Lokpal Bill could not be the sole reference point for an anti-graft law. They also rejected Team Anna's demand that the Lokpal Bill be passed within the next four days after extending the current session of Parliament, bypassing scrutiny by the Standing Committee. Emerging after a meeting with Pranab Mukherjee and Salman Khurshid, civil society representatives said, "We are back to where we were, and we will have to start from the scratch." 
    Prashant Bhushan, Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi claimed that the government representatives also brushed aside any concern for Anna's health, saying that it was the headache of members of civil society. 
Cracks emerge in BJP over soft line 
    The BJP received a jolt on Wednesday with three MPs, including senior leader Yashwant Sinha, accusing the party of not being serious about corruption and offering to quit their Lok Sabha seats. Sinha, along with former actor Shatrughan Sinha and Uday Singh, sprung a surprise at the BJP parliamentary party meeting. Sinha said the BJP was unable to take a strong stand on the Lokpal issue without which it was not possible to "take the battle (against corruption) forward". P 15 
A BRIDGE TOO FAR 
LOWER BUREAUCRACY | Team Anna says entire bureaucracy should come under Lokpal, not just higher bureaucracy, because day-to-day pain felt by citizens is often from lower bureaucracy. Government says it is impossible to cover 40 lakh employees without creating a mammoth structure, which is undesirable 
CITIZENS' CHARTER | Team Anna says this would define time-frame for tasks of public offices (say, a ration card should be given in 3 days, or passport in 15 days) and it must be spelt out in Lokpal Bill. Failure to meet deadline should lead to fines. Govt says this should be included in separate Grievances Redressal Bill, and there should be no fines 
LOKAYUKTAS | Team Anna says all states must have this state-level anti-corruption mechanism. Right now only 18 states have it, and of them, many are defunct. Govt says these are matters for the state govts to decide and Centre has no say. Team Anna disagrees 
JAN LOKPAL BILL | Team Anna wants its version of the bill to be considered and adopted by Parliament. Govt says Parliament is supreme and it can consider all versions, including the MCPRI version as well as Jan Lokpal Bill. NCPRI Bill visualizes different ombudsmen for judiciary, lower bureaucracy, govt leaders and higher bureaucracy, and grievance redressal 
PARLIAMENTARY PROCESS | Team Anna demands that an amended draft bill should be debated by entire Parliament, and not sent to Standing Committee. It wants a definite time-frame for passing bill. Govt says bill will go to Standing Committee as process can't be short-circuited. However, it says some time-frame can be given 
STUCK ON SQUARE TWO? 
10.55AM | Anna speaks at Ramlila Maidan, doubts govt sincerity in combating corruption 
11.30AM | Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi meet Salman Khurshid and Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit 
12 NOON | Debate on corruption in Parliament, Oppn attacks govt for mishandling stir3.30PM | All-party meeting appeals to Hazare to call off fast, but doesn't want Jan Lokpal Bill to be rushed through 
8.15PM | Pranab and Khurshid meet Kejriwal & Co for another round of talks. At 10pm, the shaken Team Anna reps come out, say talks have virtually broken down PC argued for hard line in talks 
    The government has clarified that while Parliament is ready to consider the Jan Lokpal Bill, it will also consider other versions of the antigraft bill like the one prepared by Aruna Roy's MCPRI. All these versions, said sources, would be vetted by the Standing Committee which would hammer out a "strong Lokpal Bill." In all this there was an obvious tacit admission: the bill earlier brought in Parliament by the government was virtually a lemon. 
    The government's tough posture on Thursday came against the backdrop of hardening of mood in the face of Hazare's pressure tactics. The decision not to give in was taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs held after Team Anna's talks with Pranab Mukherjee and Khurshid. Sources said at the meeting home minister P Chidambaram strongly argued for ahard line in the government's dealings with Team Anna. Responding to Anna group's demand that the bill be passed in four days after extending the Monsoon session beyond September 8, the PM said on Thursday, "This is their suggestion. This does not mean we have to accept everything." Although he underlined "there is scope for give-and-take", the comment reflected a new firmness.

HARD-AND-FAST RULES THE DAY: A young supporter of Anna Hazare at the Ramlila ground on Wednesday

ANNA ANGER HITS HOME FOR MPS

Answering Gandhian's Call, Scores Of Citizens Stage Protests Outside Parliamentarians' Homes To Push For Jan Lokpal Bill

    Parliamentarians from Mumbai and Thane got a bitter taste of the anti-graft anger raging across India as scores of Anna supporters staged sit-ins and protests outside their homes. Several MPs were away when demonstrators came calling on Monday, but of those who were, two—Priya Dutt and Sanjay Nirupam—reacted "positively" to the protesters' demands. 

    Meeting protesters outside her Pali Hill residence, Dutt said that she found the present Lokpal bill "weak" and that a few of its provisions could be tweaked to make the bill stronger. "I feel 
the judiciary should be under the purview of the bill," she said. 
    Asked whether the PM too should also be brought under the bill's purview, Dutt replied, "I don't think the PM will have any problem." She did however clarify that she did not support the Jan Lokpal bill, "which too had its own flaws". There is a need for more debate and for seeking public opinion before clearing the present bill, Dutt maintained. 
    Nirupam, meanwhile, chose to meet protesters in Vile Parle—far away from his Andheri home. Sporting an Anna-like topi, the Congress MP said that he broadly supported the agitation. "I am in favour of citizens fighting against corruption. But I don't agree with all the provisions of the Jan Lokpal bill. I think it would not be practical to accept it in totality. The present bill is strong enough to crack a whip on corrupt elements," Nirupam said. 
    At most agitations, citizens shouted slogans like "Jan Lokpal bill pass karo, warna kursi chhod do (Pass Jan Lokpal bill or quit your parliament seat)". At some, they presented MPs with floral bouquets with a message wishing the Congress government to "get well soon". 
    About 150 protesters gathered outside MP Milind Deora's Pedder Road house and Churchgate office. The latter, however, was away in Delhi. 
    NCP MP Sanjay Patil was busy at a dahi-handi celebration when protesters came knocking at his Bhandup residence. His mother accepted the citizens' memorandum, though that did not reassure all. Pushpa Mhatra, a housewife, complained: "We cannot earn a decent living without greasing someone's palms." 
    In Chembur, more than a hundred angry protesters stayed put outside Gurudas Kamat's house, waving flags, singing patriotic songs and shouting slogans, when they did not get a chance to meet the Congress MP. "We are repeatedly trying to call up Kamat, but in vain. Nobody has come forward to accept out memorandum. It is disgusting," said activist Anil Parekh. 
    Thane MP Sanjeev Naik too was not present at his Koparkhairne residence when 200 protestors arrived at his home demanding a personal meeting. "Our MP has no time to meet the people," said Rohan Shastry, a protestor. 
    Again in Thane, activists laid siege outside the home of Anand Paranjape and insisted that the Shiv Sena MP personally accept their memorandum. But Paranjape could not meet them since he too was busy with the dahi handi celebrations in Dombivli. 
    "We are here to hand over a memorandum to the MP about the Jan Lokpal bill. Agreed, he is busy, but these are extraordinary times," said advocate Vijay Gookhale, a resident of Dombivli who led the protestors. 
Small beginnings 
    Anna Hazare's crusade, or at least his supporters, are making a difference. Gaurav Kumar Kate (22), a student of Sardar Patel College of Engineering, was at Dadar station on Monday to collect his bike from a Vidarbha train when an octroi official stopped him and obliquely demanded a bribe. "He asked for Rs 1,800 as octroi, adding if I don't want a receipt he'll charge less," said Kate, who called a friend to check octroi rates. "I was told there are no charges on used vehicles like mine." As Kate threatened him with a complaint to the anticorruption bureau, he was let go. But the story didn't end there. 
    An RPF constable then asked Kate to pay for lacking the 'right' signature on the gate pass. Kate got hold of Anna supporters outside Dadar and with them, took him to the chief RPF officer's cabin. "It puts us to shame," said M K Srivastav, RPF officer at Dadar. 
    —Shreya Bhandary | TNN

These daily rallies and protests are an indicator that our society has woken up. It is time for corrupt officials and politicians to be taught a lesson 
—Alka Kerkar | 
SOCIAL ACTIVIST

MPs represent us. They need to be informed that whatever suits 
    the government cannot be passed as law. Public opinion should be given priority. The Lokpal bill is weak. But I am sure that with the kind of public support we are getting, the government will have to accept our demands or step down 
— Nitin Wadhwani | 
BUSINESSMAN

We won't let this crusade fizzle out. We will continue 
    marching on the roads, to the doorsteps of political leaders' homes to convince them that we need better laws in the country. I want to see a better India in the future. As a businesswoman, I find corruption at various levels 
— Sheetal Ratwani | 
BUSINESSWOMAN

We are here on the streets protesting on behalf of our hero Anna Hazare. We need an Anna in every corner of the nation to get rid of corruption. The menace is so deep-rooted in the country that it frustrates us. I appeal to our MPs to support what citizens want 
— Shatrughana Tiwary 
MUSICIAN

RAPID DECLINE Many of those on fast at Azad Maidan have agreed to discontinue their protest on the request of the protest organizer, India Against Corruption 
The protesters have been asked to instead help mobilize crowds for an upcoming rally 
The steadfast abstention had begun affecting the health of the protesters since the last few days

TAKE THREE 
    A group of activists decried the Jan Lokpal bill at a press meet in Mumbai and said that they supported Aruna Roy's 'factual' and 'realistic' version instead 
    Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt accused Team Anna of selling "happiness, not truth" by "weaving dreams, creating conflicts and producing a hero", who triumphs at the end 
Delhi-based Shabnam Hashmi expressed fears about the disturbing "level of threat" because of which "we cannot freely say that we do not represent Anna Hazare" 
She also asserted that people are afraid of asking "if Anna is fake". "Calling him Mahatma is a dishonour to Mahatma Gandhi", said Hashmi

CLOSE CALL 
    Heeding calls from Team Anna in Delhi, hundreds of Hazare supporters marched to the homes of parliamentarians in Mumbai and Thane to press for acceptance of the Jan Lokpal bill 
    A few MPs came to address the protesters, though most MPs were not at home 
    Congress MP Priya Dutt supported some provisions of the Jan Lokpal Bill, such as the inclusion of the judiciary under the bill's purview

UNITED WE STAND 
    Several Muslim groups, Urdu writers and associations of ulema (religious leaders) slammed Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari's advice to Muslims to stay away from Hazare's crusade 
    They called Bukhari's statement "divisive" since corruption affects every Indian 
    They also said that slogans of Vande Matram and Bharat Mata Ki Jai are ways of expressing love for the country and Muslims "for it is second to none"

FURY RAINING: Hundreds demanded the passage of Jan Lokpal bill outside the Pedder Road residence of MP Milind Deora