New Delhi:
The government today offered an olive branch to the activists who are a part of the Lokpal Bill drafting committee and say they are the targets of a "smear campaign" launched mainly by politicians who want to undermine their stature and credibility.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee promised this evening that the working of that committee "won't be affected by the controversies of over some members. Committee's government members will work with Anna Hazare and colleagues to draft a strong Lokpal bill".
Mr Mukherjee's own partyman - Digvijaya Singh -has been cited by Justice Santosh N Hedge as the reason why he may quit the committee. Mr Hegde has said he is "very very hurt" by Mr Singh's criticism of his track record as Karnataka's Lokayukta or ombudsman. Mr Singh has since said that he did not meant to target Mr Hedge personally who he described as India's best Lokayukta - an explanation that has not mollified the former Supreme Court judge.
"I don't think I will fall for that or I will accept that statement ...this gentleman four-five days back said when asked by the media 'What do you think of Justice Hegde?' and he said, 'I don't know anything about him.'
A person who did not have any information about me a couple of days back suddenly makes such a statement about me - it must be part of the conspiracy to defame people who are there in the committee," Mr Hegde said this morning in Bangalore.
The Lokpal Bill is aimed at combating corruption. The committee in charge of writing it was set up earlier this month after a hunger strike by 72-year-old Gandhian Anna Hazare. He became the centrifugal force in a people's movement that demanded the government prove its intent to introduce a radical and tough new law. The Lokpal Bill Committee was set up to ensure Mr Hazare ended his fast. It pairs five ministers with five activists Mr Hazare, Mr Hegde, Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan, and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan, who was declared the co-chair of the committee, at par with the Finance Minister.
Some critics now want the Bhushans to exit the committee. In the last few days, they have been accused of multiple counts of corruption. A CD circulated among the media last week has a purported conversation between Shanti Bhushan , Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Amar Singh. A voice resembling Mr Bhushan's offers that a judge can be bribed for four crores and that his son, Prashant, would be able to handle this. The Bhushans have produced lab reports that show the CD is doctored; a forensic lab used by the government says it is not.
The Bhushans have also been questioned about accepting land in Noida from the UP government at heavily discounted rates. Critics point out that given that the Bhushans are fighting several court cases against Mayawati through Public Interest Litigations, at the very least, there was a conflict of interest in their accepting the land from her. In response, the Bhushans have said that if the process of land allocation followed in their case lacks transparency, it should be cancelled.
While Mr Kejriwal who is a member of the drafting committee along with the Bhushans has said there is no question of them resigning, other activists disagree. (Poll: Should Bhushans step down from Lokpal panel). Mr Hazare himself refused to support the Bhushans yesterday, stating that the CD and the land controversy are matters that they need to address on their own. NGO activist Omkar Razdan, who was a prominent participant in Mr Hazare's campaign, says the Bhushans are in danger of hijacking the importance of the Lokpal Bill.