Why should an honest man like you fear Lokpal,Anna asks PM

Raising their pitch on the issue,the activists also took on Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for accusing the civil society of trying to undermine democracy and said his statement betrayed a “distorted understanding of democracy and arrogance of power”.

“You are one of the most honest Prime Ministers the country has had. It is ironical that your own government should seek to take the Prime Minister out of the purview of Lokpal’s investigations.

“We are wondering what happened post-March 2011,which prompted the government to suddenly take a U-turn on this issue. Till now the Prime Minister could be investigated by the CBI. Why should an honest Prime Minister like you be scared of being investigated by an independent Lokpal?” the activists said in the three-page letter to Singh.

Activist Arvind Kejriwal termed the government’s insistence on non-inclusion of the Prime Minister under the purview of Lokpal as “completely mysterious” when governments for the past 10 years were of the view that this post should come under the ombudsman.

In the letter,the activists said the government will need to amend the Constitution and grant the Prime minister immunity similar to that enjoyed by the President in order to keep him out of the purview of the ombudsman. They asked if the government is planning to do that and why.

“Taking the Prime Minister out of the ambit of the Lokpal would be a retrograde step,” the letter said.

“We remember in the past you had yourself offered to be brought under the purview of the Lokpal Bill. Then why are your own ministers opposing your inclusion in Lokpal’s ambit? Is there a disconnect or communication gap within the government?” the letter said.

Interestingly,it said,three out of five ministers in the joint committee,have themselves advocated the inclusion of the Prime Minister in Lokpal Bill on earlier occasions.

The letter also mentioned that Mukherjee,as chairman of the Standing Committee in 2001,had recommended the Prime Minister should be covered under Lokpal and then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had agreed to that.

It also said Law Minister M Veerappa Moily,also a member of the Lokpal Bill,suggested the inclusion of the Prime Minister in the legislation and Home Minister P Chidambaram had concurred with him.

“Now all three ministers have suddenly taken a U-turn and they appear to be adamant on keeping the PMO out of the Lokpal’s ambit. We want to know what happened that the PMO now does not want disclosure of its conduct,” Kejriwal said.

Arguing for the inclusion of the Prime Minister under the Lokpal,the letter said the post is covered under the Prevention of Corruption Act and any allegation of corruption against a Prime Minister can be investigated. No exception has been made for the Prime Minister,they said.

The letter said the CBI does the investigations on allegations against the Prime Minister but the agency is under his control. They said the only change they were proposing was that rather than being investigated by an agency under his control,let the Prime Minister be investigated by an independent agency.

The letter also sought to know from Singh about the government stand’s that a Prime Minister under the scanner would become dysfunctional.

Noting he had worked with former Prime Ministers Rajiv Gandhi and P V Narasimha Rao,they asked whether he felt that Gandhi became “dysfunctional” due to Bofors probe or Rao due to the investigations into JMM MPs payoff case.

They also noted the Prime Minister was privy to sensitive security secrets and said,“Suppose tomorrow,a corrupt person like Madhu Koda or A Raja or Reddy brothers becomes the Prime Minister,don’t you feel the security of the country would be seriously compromised?”

Taking on Mukherjee for his comments against the civil society that it will become a circus if the committee proceedings are televised,Prashant Bhushan asked whether by saying this,the Finance Minister was hinting that Parliament proceedings were a circus.

“The government says they can’t make the proceedings public or have a live telecast of the joint commitee meetings as it will become a circus. There is live telecast of Parliament proceedings. Does the Prime Minister and the government think it is a circus in Parliament?” he said.

Asked why they were not pulling out of the drafting commitee as there was so much mistrust,Kejriwal said they have to work with this. “At least,we can put on record our dissent note,” he said.

Anna Hazare has also accused officebearers of the Congress and Union ministers of intentionally “defaming” the Lokpal movement and the emerging NGO sector in the country.

“They (the government) are making lot many allegations,including the so-called hidden support and political agenda designed by RSS and BJP. This is sheer humiliation of the sentiments of common Indians. They are trying to demoralise and confuse agitators fighting against corruption and this proves the government’s insensitivity,” Hazare told PTI here.

Hazare also said he had written a letter to Sonia Gandhi to draw her attention towards the “mudslinging” ahead of the next meeting of the Lokpal draft committee in Delhi.

The anti-corruption crusader,who turns 74 on June 15,was felicitated here by an NGO last evening.

While expressing his resolve to start a hunger strike if the Centre fails to enact the Lokpal Bill in the stipulated time,Hazare said,“No one can stop the emerging social and political change in India. Now people have realised they have to become agents of change and must not rely only on leaders and political parties.”

He also reiterated his resolve to start a hunger strike if the government goes back on its commitment to Lokpal Bill.

Civil society activists,led by the Gandhian,had last Monday boycotted the meeting of the joint drafting committee on the Lokpal Bill saying the government’s intentions raised serious doubts about whether it wants a strong anti-corruption watchdog.