The Hazare camp shot off a letter to the prime minister alleging that the government appeared to be shrinking the scope of the anti-corruption regime.
The slugfest over the Lokpal Bill intensified today with the civil society led by Anna Hazare slamming the government asking why an "honest" prime minister was scared of coming under its ambit and calling the move to keep him out as "retrograde".
The Congress responded with equal vigour dubbing Hazare as an "unelected dictator" who is reading the script of forces attempting to destabilise the country.
Amid the escalating war of words, senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh made a u-turn on his statement that the prime minister be brought under the purview of the anti-corruption ombudsman by saying he will now go with the party and the government on the issue.
A day after finance minister Pranab Mukherjee lashed out at Hazare and yoga guru Ramdev calling their methods unconstitutional that undermined democracy, the activists attacked him saying his statement betrayed a "distorted understanding of democracy and arrogance of power".
The Hazare camp also shot off a letter to the prime minister alleging that the government appeared to be shrinking the scope of the anti-corruption regime.
The non-inclusion of the prime minister under the ambit of the Lokpal would be a "retrograde" step, the letter said two days ahead of the next meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill.
Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari in hard hitting remarks said, "The greatest danger to the democracy is from the unelected dictator....If democracy faces its biggest peril, it is from the tyranny of the unelected and tyranny of the unelectible". He however did not name anyone.
Hazare accused the office bearers of Congress and Union ministers of intentionally "defaming" the Lokpal movement.
"You are one of the most honest prime ministers the country has had. It is ironical that your own government should seek to take the prime minister out of the purview of Lokpal's investigations.
"We are wondering what happened post March 2011, which prompted the government to suddenly take a U-turn on this issue. Till now the prime minister could be investigated by the CBI. Why an honest prime minister like you should be scared of being investigated by an independent Lokpal," the activists said in the three-page letter to Singh.
Activist Arvind Kejriwal termed the government insistence on non-inclusion of the prime minister under the purview of Lokpal as "completely mysterious" when governments for the past ten years were of the view that this post should come under the ombudsman.
Kejriwal said Mukherjee's remarks show a "mistaken understanding" that the people have no role to play in governance and law-making once they have elected their representatives and they have formed a government.
He said the government cannot be a "dictator" for five years on the ground they were elected. "They think that the ruling party is important and no one else. It has become a dictator."
Hitting out at the civil society representatives led by Hazare, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said now there has been "violence in language" of those who have been claiming to be Gandhians and it appears that they have been reading the script of forces out to destabilize the country.
Hazare told PTI in Ahmednagar, "They (the government) making a lot of allegations, including the so-called hidden support and political agenda designed by RSS and BJP, is a sheer humiliation of sentiments of common Indians.
They are trying to demoralise and confuse agitators fighting against corruption and this proves insensitivity of government."
About Mukherjee's comments against the civil society that the committee proceedings will become a circus if they are televised, Lokpal drafting committee member and lawyer Prashant Bhushan hit back by pointing out that parliamentary proceedings are also telecast.
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