While replying to the debate on corruption in the Lok Sabha, the Prime Minister urged Hazare to end his fast, saying that the Gandhian has made his point.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday reached out to Anna Hazare and offered to discuss his Jan Lokpal Bill along with Aruna Roy’s and Jayaprakash Narayan’s versions of similar bills in Parliament.
While replying to the debate on corruption in the Lok Sabha, the prime minister urged Hazare to end his fast, saying that the Gandhian has made his point.
Singh said all ideas should be discussed, debated so that the best possible Bill can be prepared. While defending the government’s bill, he said the government had an open mind, was open to persuasion and all suggestions.
He clarified that the parliamentary standing committee examining the present Lokpal Bill can find ways to ensure that Hazare’s bill, too, is given due consideration.
During his reply, the PM made a serious attempt to break the impasse between Team Anna and the government. Singh’s statement in a way had the backing of the parties which had reflected their views asserting the supremacy of Parliament.
“We could have a debate in this House on all the bills and have a discussion what are the weak points of various bills and what are the strong points of various bills and at the end send the whole record for consideration of the standing committee of parliament. This will meet the point that Anna Hazare and his colleagues have been making that Parliament must have a chance to give its views on their bill before sending it to the standing committee. This is one via media which will respect the parliamentary supremacy and, at the same time, enable Parliament to take on board ideas contained in the Lokpal Bill drafted by Shri Anna Hazare and his colleagues,” Singh said.
While appealing to Anna to end his fast, the prime minister said: “I urge all Members of the House to join me in making an appeal to Shri Anna Hazare that he has made his point.”
Later, leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, too, urged Anna to end his fast. “We assure Anna that no matter how much amendments we have to make, we will bring a powerful bill,” Swaraj said without committing on his Jan Lokpal bill.
Earlier, the prime minister rebutted accusations against him of conniving in corruption of the UPA government. He dared the BJP to look into personal wealth and assets and prove any wrong doing.
Singh struck a personal chord when he talked about his personal integrity. In an assertive and a from-the-heart speech, the prime minister said BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi had turned the debate into a personal attack on him as if he was the fountainhead of corruption and that he knowingly connived at corruptions of his colleagues.
The PM said he considered it beneath his dignity to enter into an argument on issues which are before the PAC, issues which are in courts.
“In the course of seven years as prime minister I may have made mistakes... To err is human but to accuse me of evil intentions, of conniving at corruption is a charge I firmly repudiate,” the PM said.
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