New Delhi:
It looks like the honeymoon period between activists of the Lokpal Bill and the government has ended with sharp differences emerging between the two today. After a marathon three hour meeting, the government refused to concede to the basic principles demanded by Anna Hazare and his nominees.
The two sides disagreed on the Prime Minister coming under the purview of the Lokpal. They further disagreed over the inclusion of judiciary under the Lokpal. The government was of the view that it should be self-regulatory, but the civil society members disagreed.
"The government's views were that both the Prime Minister and the higher judiciary should be outside the purview of the Lokpal. They said that if there is a corruption investigation against the PM, it will render the PM dysfunctional," said Prashant Bhushan, a member of the Lokpal Bill panel.
While the government is refusing to blink, it will stay the course, given how Hazare's fast against corruption caught the public imagination.
For now the government is buying time by writing to the states and parties for their views before taking a final decision.
"Both sides are constructively looking at those divergences and will meet next time on the 6th of June and thereafter on the 10th of June to resolve some of these issues. In the meantime we have decided the committee will be writing to the state governments and the political parties," said Kapil Sibal, Telecom and HRD Minister.
But in front of the cameras some divisions within Team Anna were showing over including the Prime Minister. Prashant Bhushan had to publicly caution Arwind Kejriwal whether the Prime Minister should be covered under the Lokpal.
"The Prime Minister wants to be investigated by an agency which works directly under him," Mr Kejriwal had said.
Clarifying it, Mr Bhushan immediately said, "Prime Minister has probably been taking the view that he should be under the purview of the Lokpal, but some of the other members of the cabinet have taken this view that the Prime Minister should be out of the purview of the Lokpal.
The government is clearly buying time, but the breakdown of talks seems inevitable. The question now is of politics - who will be held responsible for this breakdown, Anna Hazare or the government?