Government tells agitated team Anna to be patient
09 Dec 2011
As social activist Anna Hazare prepares to launch yet another stir in New Delhi on Sunday to press for a strong central 'lokpal' or corruption watchdog, the government today suggested that he and his team should await the passage of the lokpal bill before further agitation.
"They should all wait for a decision in Parliament. People can give their views but Parliament takes the decision," parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal told reporters in New Delhi.
Talking to reporters in his home village of Ralegon Siddhi in Maharashtra, Hazare had said earlier today that the lokpal bill arrived at by the parliamentary standing committee was meant to fool people. Other members of 'team Anna' questioned its credibility, saying it has the support of only 12 MPs.
On Hazare's proposed day-long agitation at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Sunday and team Anna's attack on the standing committee's report on the lokpal bill, Bansal said, "It amuses and bemuses me that discussions will be held in Jantar Mantar."
He said issues need to be resolved in an atmosphere of amity. "It is the responsibility of Parliament to pass laws. That right flows from the Constitution and in that respect Parliament is supreme," he said.
He also wanted Team Anna to understand that law-making is a dynamic process.
