Activists' letter induces stiff govt reaction

New Delhi, June 7: The strained relation between the government and the civil society activists who were rallying against corruption reached its height on Monday, June 6.

Anna Hazare and his supporters were charged by Senior minister Kapil Sibal for skipping a meeting to discuss the new "Lokpal Bill".

Addressing a letter sent by Shanti Bhushan, one among the five non-government representatives along with Anna Hazare that is helping draft the new bill, Mr Sibal stated that the government takes displeasure to few parts of the letter like, "Recent events since our last meeting don't inspire any confidence that the government is serious enough about the Lokpal bill."

The letter also mentioned that the government seemed to be "shying away from any kind of public debate," that's a sheer insult to the government. Mr. Bhushan repeated that the activists demanded meetings of the drafting committee to be videotaped.

The government is annoyed with the activists working on the Lokpal bill as they stayed away from the meeting in protest against the weekend developments against Baba Ramdev. The yoga guru Baba Ramdev, who was on a hunger strike alongwith 65,000 followers in Delhi were brutally lathicharged by the police.

Mr Bhushan stated, "Helpless and unarmed people who were protesting peacefully were harmed without any provocation. In a brutal manner in which the grounds were evacuated shows that the government was committed to crush the people raising their voice against corruption."

OneIndia News