People have the right to protest: Brinda on Hazare's fast

Bhubaneswar, Jul 29: Not averse to civil rights leader Anna Hazare's proposed fast against the Lokpal Bill, CPI-M leader Brinda Karat today (Jul 29) said every citizen has the right to protest.

Advocating inclusion of the prime minister and the conduct of MPs in Parliament under the ambit of the Lokpal Bill, Karat said, "Every citizen has the right to protest. People's struggle will strengthen the democracy."

Though the Standing Committee of the Parliament in 2001 had recommended inclusion of the prime minister under the purview of the Lokpal Bill, Karat pointed out that now in 2011 the Centre was arguing in a different voice.

"If a better law can be made due to public protest, what is the harm in it," she asked, adding that people should oppose the bill if they find it not sufficient to curb corruption at high places.

Karat, while attending a meeting on women SHGs here, however, admitted that she did not agree to certain issues raised by Hazare.

"A weak bill cannot give justice to the people," she said, adding that there was no point in keeping the prime minister out of the purview of the Lokpal Bill.

The Rajya Sabha MP also felt that it was essential to include the conduct of MPs in Parliament in the bill or prepare any mechanism so MPs behave properly in the House.

On corruption issues, Karat dubbed Congress and BJP as "two sides of the same coin".

"The central government took action against Raja and others in the 2G case only after the Supreme Court's direction. Similarly, the BJP was being forced to change its chief minister in Karnataka following Lokayukta's judgement," she pointed out.

PTI