Lokpal meet: Sibal led offensive
Matter Heats Up In 7th Round Of Talks, Negotiations Collapse
Himanshi Dhawan TNN
New Delhi: Tempers flared, accusations were hurled and threats flew back and forth as the June 30 deadline to complete the Lokpal draft drew closer. The audio recordings of the joint Lokpal drafting committee – made public in response to an RTI application -- have revealed how sharp words were exchanged between the civil society members and Union ministers.
HRD minister Kapil Sibal led the charge from the government side, taking on the civil society activists head on over their "liars, cheats and conspirators" accusation against the minister. He asked them to justify the charge. In the tapes, the HRD minister is also heard mocking civil society activists' description of the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Chief Election Commissioner as objective constitutional bodies when the two sides locked horns over the composition of the selection committee for Lokpal.
While most of the nine meetings spread over two months were cordial, matters heated up in the seventh round sharpening the divide which eventually resulted in the collapse of the negotiations. The provocation for the spike in tension was the barbs the two sides were trading in public. While lawyer fatherson duo Shanti and Prashant Bhushan were wincing from the `fake CD'' allegations slapped on them, Sibal chose to raise the issue of ministers being called `liars, cheats and conspirators'' as soon as the meeting started. It took all of finance minister and co-convener Pranab Mukherjee's skills to calm both sides down and focus the discussions on the bill.
Launching on an offensive, Sibal said, ``They have been rather generous in their praise towards us, by calling us liars, cheats and conspirators. And Anna Hazareji himself I heard him on television yesterday itself, says that whatever we had promised at the time when he was on fast we have reneged on that promise. Before this meeting starts we would like to know how and when have we cheated you, lied to you, conspired against you. And how and when have we been arrogant and in what manner have we gone back on any promise that we made to you...before any substantive discussion is taken forward.''
Team Anna members initially kept quiet but when pressed further by Sibal, retorted by bringing up the "fake" CD where Shanti Bhushan purportedly offered to fix a judge through Prashant Bhushan for a fee.
Sibal denied that government had anything to do with the CD, and kept up his offensive that the civil society members back their charges with evidence.
`You have said publicly outside, you must place on record in these proceedings because these are being audio-taped as to when and how we lied, when and how we cheated, when and how we conspired and when we have gone back on our promise and on what?''
Justice Santosh Hegde also pitched in, recalling the allegations levelled by a Congress general secretary against the civil society.
Anna Hazare tried to play the peacemaker. ``We had earlier said that civil society and the government are united in their resolve to fight corruption.''
But Sibal remained insistent and continued forcefully that the civil society members owed them an explanation.
To this Kejriwal said, ``I think each one of you carries two hats. One is that of a member of the committee and the other is the member of the Government of India. We have been saying things against the government. We have never talked....''
In a rapid back and forth when Sibal said that he hoped there would be no more allegations without basis for them, Prashant Bhushan retorted, ``... we don't make baseless comments.''
Sibal said, ``No, no, you have. You said that government are liars?…what is government? None of us...no member of the government has ever spoken against you.''
Prashant Bhushan said, `Then this will degenerate into... Please don't force us to get into all these things." To which Sibal replied, ``No, no, no, please don't threaten... please move on... don't threaten us we don't listen to threats.''
After this an agitated Mukherjee intervened and asked both sides to start discussions on the bill.
In the next meeting, the penultimate one, tempers were under control but there were long arguments over various provisions.
In his argument with Team Anna over the selection committee of the Lokpal, Sibal expressed lack of faith in the institutions of the Chief Election Commission (CEC) and Comptroller & Auditor General (CAG).
When Prashant Bhushan said the committee should include CEC and CAG to lend it an independent stature, Sibal countered this by mocking, ``In your eyes they are ...I don't know...you may know better….You know more CECs and CAGs.'' In the same meeting, arguing with Shanti Bhushan over the removal of the members of the Lokpal, Sibal made similar remarks about the judiciary.
Team Anna members initially kept quiet but when pressed further by HRD minister Kapil Sibal, they retorted by bringing up the "fake" CD
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