Team Anna on Wednesday accused the Union government of indulging in a misinformation campaign and playing a hoax on people in the name of the Lokpal Bill. It also appealed to MPs to first interact with their constituencies and then exercise their legislative duties as parliamentarians in enacting the proposed historic law against corruption.

Anna Hazare, Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal minced no words in expressing their consternation at the government’s draft. They said from Thursday they would contact all parties and their leaders on the issue ahead of all-party meeting planned by the government.

The Centre wants to obtain the opinion of all parties and Chief Ministers at a meeting to be held on July 3^rd.

The two divergent versions on the Bill – one prepared by the government representatives and the other by the civil society member, will be circulated ahead of the all-party meeting for the participants to express their views on each issue in detail.

Denying Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal’s accusation that the civil society members were confronting Parliament by seeking to resume their agitational course, Mr. Kejriwal and Ms. Bedi said Mr. Hazare was not against Parliament, the Government or the Congress.

They said they were demanding a law from parliamentarians and since the government had a majority, it was being requested to take the initiative to give the country a strong and effective Lokpal.

They described the government draft as a hoax as there was no room for redress of the common man’s grievance and it had made investigation complex, and denied the  Lokpal the teeth to conduct a proper investigation.

GOVERNMENT DRAFT A HOAX – TEAM ANNA HAZARE

Report by Alka