Its party time for Anna Hazare as something is better than nothing but only time will tell, whether it’s a strong legislation or a toothless act.
Gandhian-style activist, Anna Hazare, who has been fasting since December 10 demanding the passing of Lokpal Bill wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi being thankful to him for his dedication to fight against corruption.
Gandhi replied to the letter saying that his government is devoted to giving the nation a strong Lokpal Bill. Gandhi also wrote that he is inspired by the Hazare’s efforts to fight corruption and was grateful for his support.
On the other hand, recently when Aam Aadmi Party’s senior leader Gopal Rai visited Ralegan Siddhi to join Anna in his fast for Lokpal Bill, he was asked to leave for disrupting the speech of Anna’s follower, former Army General VK Singh.
In an indirect attack, Singh was hitting out at AAP, calling them “opportunists” who “deserted” Anna after using him and his anti-graft movement as a plank to add political mileage.
Singh said, “When Annaji raised the voice for Jan Lokpal, many people rallied behind him but later left him. Today, they say it is because of them that there is Annaji and not because there is Annaji that they are there. Nobody can undermine something that Annaji has created. Today, if we have to take our nation forward, we need to unite and not float separate groups and separate parties”.
This was followed by a verbal fight with Rai who was sitting among the audience and fasting. Calling Singh an “agent” of Narendra Modi, Rai alleged Singh of misleading Anna and creating a crack between AAP and Anna.
Anna was forced to intervene. He took the mike and started shouting at Rai.
Anti-corruption crusader said, “You were told not to join the fast but you did. Now people are asking you not to interrupt (Gen. Singh’s) speech and you are interrupting. If you have to create a ruckus, you leave the village. Don’t sit here. It is not proper to interrupt people when they are speaking”.
Following which, Rai left the venue after few minutes. This indicates that friends are turning into foes and vice versa.
The debatable Lokpal Bill was passed on Tuesday by Rajya Sabha, with all political parties supporting the bill, except for Samajwadi Party, which staged a walk-out when the bill was tabled in the house.
The bill will be tabled today in Lok Sabha, where it will face the acid test.
Though Anna Hazare has welcomed the step, his former supporter, Arvind Kejriwal is not satisfied with the present version of the bill. AAP leader Kumar Vishwas said it was a bad day for Lokpal and an insult for those who asked for a better Lokpal.
Its party time for Anna Hazare as something is better than nothing, as always and only time will tell, whether it’s a strong legislation or a toothless act.
