Hazare detention: Cong, Govt hold series of meetings

New Delhi, Aug 16: With the political storm brewing over Anna Hazare's detention, Congress and government today (Aug 16) held a series of meetings to discuss the fallout and chalk out a strategy to counter public perception on the Lokpal issue.

After a meeting of Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi held a closed-door discussion with UPA troubleshooter Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Home Minister P Chidambaram and Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath.

The meeting took place minutes after disruptions in both Houses of Parliament on Hazare's detention.

"We wanted to clarify our position (in Parliament). Home Minister wanted to make a statement but the opposition did not allow and created pandemonium and forced adjournments," Mukherjee told reporters after a meeting with Gandhi.

The AICC General Secretary, who is one of the four members of the committee constituted by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to look after party affairs in her absence, had held a long meeting with the Prime Minister, Mukherjee, I&B Minister Ambika Soni and AICC media incharge Janardan Dwivedi yesterday.

The CCPA was briefed on the police action against Hazare and his team.

"Hazare has been detained. It all depends on what he intends to do. We will watch the situation," a senior minister, who attended the meeting, said.

Speaking to reporters separately, Soni, who is not a member of the CCPA, justified the police action saying if any untoward incident had taken place at a gathering of a large number of people, then all the blame would have gone on the security apparatus.

PTI