Ralegan Siddhi : After taking on the government over the Lokpal Bill, next on Anna Hazare’s agenda is a performance audit on Members of Parliament. This is Team Anna’s latest demand as it is currently in Anna’s village Ralegan Siddhi deciding its next course of action in the anti-corruption movement.
And to keep the pressure on the government, Mr Hazare is drafting a letter to the Prime Minister seeking his views on
- The right to recall a Member of Parliament
- And the right to reject candidates who stand for elections
“Anna ji is writing about these two specific points because they can be implemented straightaway,” said Prashant Bhushan, one of the members of Team Anna.
“Mr Hazare also wants to know from PM what are his views on having a ‘none of the above’ button on ballot papers. Also, if majority of voters prefer the ‘none of the above’ button, there should be a provision to reject the candidate,” he said.
Also part of the letter is the government’s recently introduced Land Acquisition Bill. Anna wants the Prime Minister to assure citizens that no land acquisition decision would be taken without the consent of the gram sabha.
Key members of Team Anna – Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Santosh Hegde, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan and Manish Sisodia – attended the meeting. The two-day brainstorming session, the first formal engagement of the group after Hazare’s fast last month, would conclude today.
If day one focused on the letter to the PM, day two will focus on the Jan Lokpal Bill – how to keep the pressure up and the momentum going over the next few months.
(With PTI inputs)
