The balance of power between the United Progressive Alliance government and activist Anna Hazare looks like it might be changing – and drastically. Gone, it seems, are the days when the Congress would crawl when Hazare asked it to.
The apparent shift in the party’s attitude toward him was highlighted in a short letter by Congress Party President Sonia Gandhi on June 19, written in response to a three-page letter Hazare wrote to her on June 9.
Sonia said nothing new in her response, but the tone of her reply is in stark contrast with the sugar and honey approach of her April 19 letter to Hazare. This time, Sonia was far more abrupt, not even properly apologizing for her late response. She did tell Hazare that her late response was because she was ‘out of station.’ What she didn’t add was that this was because she was in Italy.
She was also dismissive of the displeasure Hazare expressed over Congress leaders calling him the face of the BJP-RSS. Her single-sentence response to Hazare’s complaint was: ‘As far as the questions raised by you in the letter, I have already clarified my stand in the previous letter dated on 19 April.’ Nowhere did she assure Hazare that she would rein in her party colleagues.
Tellingly, Sonia wrote her latest letter in her capacity as chair of the National Advisory Council (NAC) and not as Congress president. Why? Well, with the anti-corruption Lokpal bill high on the agenda of the NAC, she appears to be signalling to Hazare that Lokpal is the government’s brainchild, not his.
Meanwhile, on June 19, on the eve of the bill’s joint drafting committee meeting, the Congress held its third brainstorming session in as many days to firm up strategy in dealing with the issue, as well as Hazare’s threat to resume his fast from August 16 if parliament doesn’t enact the Lokpal legislation to his satisfaction.
The Congress and the government’s strategy is threefold: (i) Complete the draft of the bill by June 30, with or without civil society input; (ii) Make minor concessions to civil society leaders without overly bothering about threats from Team Anna; (iii) Introduce the Lokpal bill in parliament at the first available opportunity and let Team Anna deal with parliament, a far trickier arrangement for civil society.
Hazare is said to be fully aware of the challenge he now faces. If he follows up on his threatened fast despite warnings from supporters like Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde – one of the five civil society members on the Lokpal panel, and who has opposed Hazare’s plans to resume his fast – then Hazare risks his movement going awry. With this in mind, he may soften his stance a bit, ask his colleagues on the Lokpal panel to stop spouting off, and try to coax the government into making as many concessions to civil society as they amicably can.
There is, though, no question of the government agreeing to demands to bring the prime minister into the ambit of the Lokpal bill, something Congress leaders have been very clear on. It remains to be seen whether Hazare will adjust himself accordingly, or whether he will continue to be driven by some of his more combustible colleagues.
At the end of the day, the government has repeatedly told Team Anna to respect the political process and not undermine parliament’s dignity and power. Once the Lokpal bill is introduced in parliament, the government has no control over its fate, and so it can’t be faulted if its legislation misses Hazare’s August 16 deadline. The bill will then have become the property of parliament, meaning only elected lawmakers have a right to deal with it. This is the political process that the government has been reminding Team Anna about. And this is the crux of the Congress and government strategy.
Reddit
Digg
StumbleUpon
Delicious
Technorati
Yahoo
Google
Plurk
santhoshkumar
LOKPAL BILL- A matter to be discussed and finalised at Parlaiment. AnnaHazare and his company is not representing the public and hence it is shamme to the Indian democracy on the present scenario developed due to the inefficient crisis management of Govt. of India.
Abdul Hafeez
“At the end of the day, the government has repeatedly told Team Anna to respect the political process and not undermine parliament’s dignity and power”
How can anyone trust the government/politicians/political process to pass a strong bill that effectively clips their wings? They have everything to lose and they will not pass the bill. The one they do make into law will be a toothless tiger. And being politicians, look for them to make amendments to the bill from time to time when no one’s looking, to suit their needs and requirements and water it down even more.
Prince Bala
The UPA Govt is totally out of touch with the aspirations of the people of this country. The country is sitting on a pile of gun powder. Even when relatively unknown leaders raise the banner of anti-corruption, it never fails to catch instant fire.
When the UPA Govt got a strong mandate, they took it as a mandate to plunder the country. Scam after scam are being unearthed in each and every one of the Ministries of the Govt. This is the natural state of affairs when you have a ‘Shadow Prime Minister’ who has all the powers with zero accountability. The actual PM is being seen as a weak ‘rubber stamp’ thereby leaving the group of ministers to embark on a Mission Plunder.
Unfortunately, no amount of outfoxing would help the Cong this time, because this revolution is powered by a seething anger of the people of India.
India is on the verge of a major revolution driven by the youth of the country and fuelled by the internet. Because the younger generation believe that enough, at long last, is enough !