New Delhi, April 23
Welcoming Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee’s public commitment to the Lokpal Bill, veteran activist Anna Hazare and his civil society group today managed to persuade a member of the joint drafting committee, Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, not to quit the panel in a huff.

The civil society members, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Santosh Hegde, Arvind Kejriwal, Swami Agnivesh, and Kiran Bedi, met here today under the chairmanship of Anna Hazare.

Later, speaking to the media at the Maharashtra Sadan, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi said the panel understands that the prime duty of the ‘India Against Corruption Movement’ has been to provide an independent, effective and accountable anti-corruption agency to the country through the Lokpal Bill.

n The committee will write to the Prime Minister and the Chief Justice of India to conduct a high-level inquiry into any allegations against any of its members n Will reach out to the people for consultations through yatras and meetings in different cities in the coming weeks n Hazare hopes that the panel will expeditiously complete its task to provide the country with an independent, effective and accountable anti-corruption authority.

“Therefore, the committee resolved that Santosh Hegde will continue to be an integral part of the movement and its drafting to see the Bill through,” they said.

Implicitly responding to the allegations of misuse of office by joint drafting committee co-chairman Shanti Bhushan, the activists further said: “The committee has decided to write to PM Manmohan Singh and CJI SH Kapadia to conduct an independent probe into any allegations made against the civil society members of the committee.”

Hegde had on Thursday announced that he was considering quitting the committee in view of the criticism voiced by Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh and also the “smear campaign” against the Bhushans.

“Anna Hazare hopes that the committee will expeditiously complete its task. The members are fully conscious of the urgency to have the right kind of Jan Lokpal Bill and have, therefore, decided to stay focused and not get distracted by malicious smear campaign against them,” said Kejriwal.

They also announced plans to reach out to the people for consultations through yatras and meetings in different cities in the coming week. “We will go to 40-50 cities and elicit public opinion and even people’s suggestions regearding the Bill,” said Kiran Bedi.

However in reply to a question why they did not have a Dalit in the panel and would they even now include one, Kejriwal said: “The government can replace one of its members with a Dalit minister.”

He also put the onus of lack of Opposition representation on the panel to the government. “We had suggested to Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal to include the Leader of Opposition in the team, but he said it can only have government members,” said Kejriwal.