|
| CURRENT AFFAIRS |
|
LOKPAL PROTESTS |
|
Anna in Hard Bargain mode as Govt dithers
PM, PC change tone, concede constraints for fast not right; Delhi police allow Ramlila Maidan as venue
Iftikhar Gilani
New Delhi
 |
|
Anna Hazare
|
|
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare had the last laugh on Wednesday as he drew a hard bargain for a month-long fast from Tihar Jails even as the government, on the back foot under public posture, withdrew most conditions and offered the more spacious Ramlila Grounds in the heart of the Capital near New Delhi railway station to assemble as many people as he may like.
Police extended the time-limit for the protest fast from three to seven days and indicated that the deadline can be further extended though the BJP-ruled Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) said the Ramlila Maidan is available only till August 31 and not for 30 days. Hazare and his team used the electronic media to the hilt, making announcements through the corporate private TV networks for the people to descend on India Gate for a massive show of strength in support of the cause for which they are fighting.
POLITICAL DECISION
In the Lok Sabha, Home Minister P Chidambaram said it was an administrative decision by the police to arrest him from associate Prashant Bhushan's flat in east Delhi on Tuesday morning, but getting him released by a Magistrate order later in the evening was a political decision.
Admitting that the 74-year old Hazare's arrest was "inevitably unfortunate" he asked, "What wrong did we do? No force was used. No one was injured." He insisted no wrongdoing in the arrest while replying to a day-long debate in the Lok Sabha on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's statement on the Hazare episode. Chidambaram said he appreciates Hazare holding his ground and facing the consequences of arrest. "I salute him. As a true Gandhian he said he will go to Jai Prakash Narayan Park and violate the prohibitory orders, he said and did not resist when taken into custody."
The Prime Minister held a meeting of the senior ministers in the evening to review the fallout of the Hazare movement gaining strength and felt better not to fight him through police action but allow him to fast if he thinks he can ignite the nation's consciousness against corruption. It is only good for the government if this brings a fear in the hearts of the corrupt, a senior minister said.
POLICE FACILITATES
The police have been told to better facilitate Anna and his supporters to carry on the fast protest as long as they want and adopt a policy of hands-off so long as their stir remains peaceful. Thousands who marched all over central Delhi from the India Gate in the evening with burning torches and candle lights cooperated with police making passage for the evening rush of traffic.
The bargains between police and team Hazare continued and as the hours passed, and the police kept conceding more and more ground. The team knows the crusader's arrest and the overwhelming public support from across the country have given them considerable leverage.
The law does not permit anybody to fast to death as it amounts to suicide and hence the police had earlier put a condition for medical check-up of Hazare every day by the government doctors but it has yielded now to let a private doctor of the team's choice examine him.
The electronic media kept speculating throughout the day that Anna would wrap up his talks with police and leave the jail. However, Kiran Bedi announced at 6 pm to the cheering crowd that he is going to spend another night in the jail. "The talks with the Delhi Police are continuing," she said, adding, "We've agreed on the venue but not the duration (of the protest)".
The Prime Minister brought an end to the Opposition paralysing Parliament by making a statement right at the start of the sitting and conceded the debate. He told reporters outside his residence in the afternoon, "We are not worried, we will find a way out of this." He said the consensus emerging from the debate was that the right of Anna to protest should be allowed without restraints.
Iftikhar Gilani is Special Correspondent with Tehelka.com
iftikhar@tehelka.com
|
