BJP twists knife: ‘Who subverted House by inviting Anna,not us?’

Defending the Delhi Police action,the Prime Minister asserted that Hazare was trying to “impose” the draft of his Jan Lokpal Bill upon Parliament which was “totally misconceived” and fraught with “grave consequences for Parliamentary democracy.” Singh said his Government does not seek any “confrontation” with any section of the society but maintained that “when some sections of society deliberately challenge the authority of the Government and the prerogative of Parliament,it is the bounden duty of the Government to maintain peace and tranquility.”

Leaders of Opposition Sushma Swaraj (Lok Sabha) and Arun Jaitley (Rajya Sabha) tore through the Prime Minister’s argument that the issue involved the supremacy of Parliament.

It was a question of civil rights of citizens,they said. Opposition members repeatedly interrupted the Prime Minister and cried “Shame,shame” every time Singh made any adulatory reference to his Government. “What is this applause for?”

BJP members mocked when the Treasury benches cheered Singh. Congress members returned fire by creating a din when Swaraj began speaking,but ultimately she managed to have her say.

Swaraj said: “We will neither allow any damage to the supremacy of Parliament,nor to the supremacy of the judiciary,but civil rights of citizens are above all…This country is free and in this free country,if the Government violates the rights of people,we will oppose it tooth and nail.”

She referred to the Prime Minister’s repeated references to “parliamentary supremacy” and “parliamentary process” and sought to know “who decided to negotiate with Team Anna Hazare after sidelining the whole opposition.”

She said that when BJP leaders inquired from Anna Hazare and his colleagues why had they excluded them (Opposition) from the negotiations,civil society leaders told them that they had suggested to the Government that they be taken on board. “However,the Government told them — having you and us (in the drafting committee) would do,” she said quoting Anna and his colleagues. “The Government,” according to her,“changed its tune when the negotiations failed.” Then the “Government remembered of parliamentary process,wrote letters to us and called an all-party meeting,” she said sarcastically.

Swaraj cited the Prime Minister’s professed commitment to “the right of citizens to hold peaceful protest” and asked if “there could be anything more untrue than this.” Her posers to Singh were: “Was the lathi-charge on the supporters of Ramdev on the midnight not a violation of civil rights? Was the lathi-charge on BJP youth wing workers on August 9 not a violation of civil rights? Was the arrest of Anna Hazare not a violation of civil rights?”

She said: “This Government is both corrupt and repressive…The Delhi police does not even stir when separatists like Geelani give speeches here.” However,“it rains lathis when a Sadhu or a Gandhi-topiwala comes,” she added.

Without mincing words,Jaitley said: “Smugness,Mr. Prime Minister,which has become a character of this Government,arrogance of power which has become a character of this Government,is not the methodology by which corruption can be fought.” He said: “Members of civil society or any citizens’ group or any citizen of this country has a right to campaign for his views…It is this right to protest and this right to dissent which your Government is trying to scuttle and we are all here to oppose that.”

He said: “The text of your statement is that…there is a confrontation between Parliament and civil society. We are refusing to bite this bait. This is not a confrontation between civil society and Parliament of India. We refuse to accept this agenda.”

Accusing the government of “unleashing a new political idiom” against those fighting corruption,Jaitley said “political spokesmen are being used literally as hitmen.” “Is that the level to which you have brought the level of the political discourse?” he asked.

Jaitley told the Prime Minister: “Your advisors let you down. Your agencies let you down… You are now in a trap.” He said that the problem with the Government is there are too many lawyers advising the Prime Minister and nobody understands that political problems have to be solved politically and not by the police. Having failed to gauge the overwhelming support for Hazare,the Prime Minister now has to hide behind the Delhi Police Commissioner for the decisions related to Hazare’s arrest,he said.

Denouncing the 22 restrictions imposed by the Delhi police on Hazare’s protest fast,he asked: “Is the Congress party willing to give a guarantee that they will not hold a protest having more than 5,000 people in future? Are you willing to abide by each of these conditions that you have imposed on Anna Hazare and his people? Your people can go and break Section 144 in the adjoining State of Uttar Pradesh and you say that right to protest is my fundamental right. But when it comes to Delhi,you adopt an alternative argument.”

Touching another sensitive nerve,Jaitley sought to know how could the Government take the stand that

“there should be no participation outside Parliament of anyone outside Parliament in the drafting of the laws?” “What is the National Advisory Committee?,” he asked and himself explained that “it is a group of citizens.”

“You are using them effectively to draft your laws; your ministers don’t even have the courage to start opposing the laws that they are drafting. So,if another group of citizen says it has a view point and please consider it; it wants to campaign,crusade.”

The Government,he argued,is living in a state of denial and taking action against corruption only when coerced to do so by the courts and the Opposition. “Why blame the youth,when even the vote of confidence in Parliament is vitiated by corruption,” he said telling the Government to treat the Hazare issue as a wake-up call.