Click to Expand & PlayRalegan Siddhi: Anti-corruption crusader has taken on the government -and blamed Rahul Gandhi -for a Lokpal Bill that he says is designed to be ineffective. "The change in stand on Lokpal Bill might be due to Rahul Gandhi's intervention," he said. Because of this "betrayal of the country," he said, he will launch a hunger strike on December 27 for eight days in Delhi.
He also plans to campaign against the Congress in the five states that are headed for elections.
Mr Hazare, who is 74, is angered by a last-minute change in the Lokpal Bill that decides nearly 60 lakh junior bureaucrats will not be accountable to the Lokpal - the new ombudsman agency that will be created to investigate complaints of corruption among government servants. The Bill has been drafted by a committee of MPs from different parties.
On Wednesday evening, according to some reports, the panel agreed that the Bill would apply to Group C officers who add upto 60% of central government employees. 24 hours later, the decision was reversed. Law Minister Salman Khurshid suggested that it would be impractical for the nine members of the Lokpal to handle lakhs of bureaucrats. The committee's report on the Lokpal Bill is not binding upon the government.
" I think there is no coordination in this government. The Standing Committee took a decision (on inclusion of Group C employees in Lokpal). I think after this decision was taken Rahul Gandhi must have told something else that no, no, no (it should not be taken).
"They operate under the instructions given by him," the activist said.
Mr Hazare said the parliamentary committee had gone back not just on its own decision but on parliament's word to him. The Prime Minister, he said, had assured him in a letter that junior government employees (Group C and D) would be included in the Lokpal Bill. In August, the Gandhian undertook an epic hunger fast that ended only when political parties guaranteed him that his vision of the Lokpal would be considered by parliament. Heading Mr Hazare's list of demands was that the ombudsman have the power to investigate junior bureaucrats . "On one hand the Prime Minister says corruption is to be curbed but on other, you say Group C and D staff will not be brought under the Lokpal ambit...for these provisions, you do not need to spend any extra money or have additional personnel," he said.
Mr Hazare also took on the government for the Lokpal Bill's recommendation on the CBI. Team Anna wants the investigating agency to be accountable to the Lokpal; the parliamentary committee says it should remain autonomous but keep the Lokpal updated and informed. The committee also u-turned away from a decision to let the selection committee for the Lokpal pick the CBI director. Activists say this means the CBI will remain vulnerable to political pressure. "Today CBI is under government control. We are saying that there should be autonomy, that the government should not have control (over CBI)," he said.
During a historic debate on corruption in parliament that persuaded Anna to end his fast, Mr Gandhi suggested that the Lokpal be created as a constitutional body - an idea the government says it intends to realise. Mr Hazare said this is a good suggestion as long as it is not diluted by government interference.
He also plans to campaign against the Congress in the five states that are headed for elections.
Mr Hazare, who is 74, is angered by a last-minute change in the Lokpal Bill that decides nearly 60 lakh junior bureaucrats will not be accountable to the Lokpal - the new ombudsman agency that will be created to investigate complaints of corruption among government servants. The Bill has been drafted by a committee of MPs from different parties.
On Wednesday evening, according to some reports, the panel agreed that the Bill would apply to Group C officers who add upto 60% of central government employees. 24 hours later, the decision was reversed. Law Minister Salman Khurshid suggested that it would be impractical for the nine members of the Lokpal to handle lakhs of bureaucrats. The committee's report on the Lokpal Bill is not binding upon the government.
" I think there is no coordination in this government. The Standing Committee took a decision (on inclusion of Group C employees in Lokpal). I think after this decision was taken Rahul Gandhi must have told something else that no, no, no (it should not be taken).
"They operate under the instructions given by him," the activist said.
Mr Hazare said the parliamentary committee had gone back not just on its own decision but on parliament's word to him. The Prime Minister, he said, had assured him in a letter that junior government employees (Group C and D) would be included in the Lokpal Bill. In August, the Gandhian undertook an epic hunger fast that ended only when political parties guaranteed him that his vision of the Lokpal would be considered by parliament. Heading Mr Hazare's list of demands was that the ombudsman have the power to investigate junior bureaucrats . "On one hand the Prime Minister says corruption is to be curbed but on other, you say Group C and D staff will not be brought under the Lokpal ambit...for these provisions, you do not need to spend any extra money or have additional personnel," he said.
Mr Hazare also took on the government for the Lokpal Bill's recommendation on the CBI. Team Anna wants the investigating agency to be accountable to the Lokpal; the parliamentary committee says it should remain autonomous but keep the Lokpal updated and informed. The committee also u-turned away from a decision to let the selection committee for the Lokpal pick the CBI director. Activists say this means the CBI will remain vulnerable to political pressure. "Today CBI is under government control. We are saying that there should be autonomy, that the government should not have control (over CBI)," he said.
During a historic debate on corruption in parliament that persuaded Anna to end his fast, Mr Gandhi suggested that the Lokpal be created as a constitutional body - an idea the government says it intends to realise. Mr Hazare said this is a good suggestion as long as it is not diluted by government interference.
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