'Netas gave lip service to Anna'

NEW DELHI: A day after the all-party meeting on Lokpal, where the August 15 deadline set by Anna Hazare for passing a law for the anti-corruption ombudsman was effectively diluted and civil society activism flayed along with government capitulation to it, Team Anna maintained a studied silence on the matter.

The sense of disappointment, though, was palpable and there was also an increasing realization that political parties having failed the movement completely, little else remained to be done than to go "back to the people" through another round of hunger strike. "Politicians gave only lip service to Anna. When it came walking the talk, they failed us. Instead, they turned the spotlight on whether we have the mandate to say what we are saying rather than hold a sensible debate about the merits of what we are saying," said a member of Team Anna.

The much-awaited and hyped all-party meeting on Sunday ended in a whimper as the civil society's demands is concerned. The only positive takeaway seemed to be that the Bill will be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament. It may not, however, be passed as demanded by Anna, with talk about it being referred to the standing committee for greater deliberations. The terse one-line resolution talked about the Bill being passed by "established procedures" believed to be a snide reference to the out-of-turn engagement with the civil society, a matter on which most parties, except CPI represented by Gurudas Dasgupta, lambasted the government.

In a bid to build consensus on the Bill, Anna and his associates like RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi had met parties across the political spectrum, and had maintained that the meetings were very ''positive". However, the initial euphoria about the 'positive reactions' are now being construed as nothing but posturing by politicians of all hues.

"We realize that we are left with no option but to go on hunger strike again. Last time's response forced the constitution of the joint drafting panel. This time, it may ensure that there is greater political will in passing an effective Lokpal Bill," said an associate of Anna Hazare.

However, there is still no official reaction from any of the civil society members of the joint drafting panel, who seem to have adopted a wait-and-watch policy to see how far the ball rolls till August 15. Anna has already announced that if an effective Lokpal Bill is not passed by then, he would go on an indefinite fast from August 16.