M A I N   N E W S

Oppn slams Manmohan’s statement on Anna’s arrest
Aditi Tandon & Ajay Banerjee
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 17
Parliament reverberated today with the repercussions of Anna Hazare’s arrest as the Opposition came out in unanimous support of the activist’s right to peaceful protest and rejected the government’s claim that the arrest was made to uphold parliamentary supremacy. It sought unconditional permission for Anna’s fast.

Leaders of Opposition in both Houses - Sushma Swaraj in the Lok Sabha and Arun Jaitely in the Rajya Sabha - tore into Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s defence that the government was duty-bound to maintain peace when some sections (read Anna and team) challenged its authority and Parliament’s prerogative to make laws. “The issue is not whether a Lokpal Bill is necessary; the question is who drafts the law,” the PM said in a statement justifying Anna’s arrest. The Opposition dismissed his contentions that Anna’s campaign was a confrontation between Parliament and the civil society, with Jaitely asking if anyone had ever disputed Parliament’s right to make laws. “The question is not who drafts the law; the question is that people have the right to express views on those laws,” he said, ripping into PM’s arguments that the government arrested Anna to protect democratic principles which he was questioning by seeking to foist his version of the Lokpal Bill on Parliament and wanting to fast towards that end. The debate happened under Rule 193.

The PM’s statement merely listed events leading up to Anna’s arrest and snubbed the Gandhian saying those who believe their voice alone represents the will of 1.2 billion persons should reflect on that position. “Many forces will not like to see us realise our true place. We must not play into their hands,” the PM warned. In the LS, he was repeatedly disrupted and Speaker Meira Kumar had to request for calm.

His statement had the Opposition wondering who drafted it. Jaitely had an answer when he took a dig at P Chidambaram, Kapil Sibal and Salman Khursheed. He said: “This is the problem with a government that has too many lawyers advising it. It invokes Section 144 of the CrPC for what is a political solution.”

In the LS, Sushma rejected the PM’s statement as “a cover-up”, charging the government with subverting those very parliamentary processes it was now seeking to uphold and terming it as “both cruel and corrupt”. “Who ignored parliamentary processes by disregarding the Opposition to engage with Team Anna on the Lokpal Bill draft and then inviting it for talks when things went out of hand?” she asked, leading a caustic attack. Both Leaders of Opposition questioned the government’s wisdom in using police power approach to resolve a political matter.

“The PM has shifted his responsibility to the Delhi Police. Ministers don’t know about Anna’s arrest. The government will decide how many days Anna will fast and how huge his protest will be,” Sushma slammed as a “bunch of lies” PM’s claims that the government respected people’s right to protest.

In the lower house, even Congress’ supporter SP chief Mulayam Singh admonished the government to learn from the Emergency, accept its fault and apologise for arresting Anna. Left leaders Basudeb Acharia, Gurudas Dasgupta; BSP’s Dara Singh Chauhan and SAD’s Harsimrat Badal - all backed the activist but a sharper attack came from JDU’s Sharad Yadav, who said Gandhiji would have never succeeded in his mission had he to face a government like the UPA.