A day after civil society activist Anna Hazare was arrested and sent to jail for demanding a stronger Lok Pal Bill by staging a hunger strike, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday said India was an emerging economy and there were many forces that would not like to see the country realise its true place in the Comity of Nations.
“We must not play into their hands. We must not create an environment in which our economic progress is hijacked by internal dissension,” Singh stressed after outlining the development of events associated with Hazare’s demand.
“We are now emerging as one of the important players on the world stage. We must keep our mind focused on the need to push ahead with economic progress for the uplift of the aam aadmi (common man),” he added. Appealing to all the political parties to ensure that Parliament functioned smoothly, Singh said, “If some people do not agree with our policy, there will be a time when they will have an opportunity to present their points of view to the people of India.”
He pointed out that notwithstanding the introduction of the Lok Pal Bill in Parliament, Hazare and his supporters had persisted with their demand that their version of the Bill should be introduced in Parliament and must be passed by it.
“I submit that the time-honoured practice is that the Executive drafts a Bill and places it before Parliament and that Parliament debates and adopts the Bill with amendments, if necessary. In the process of adoption of the Bill, there will be opportunities for Anna Hazare and others to present their views to the Standing Committee,” said the Prime Minister.
He also said the path Hazare had chosen to impose his draft of the Bill upon Parliament is totally misconceived and fraught with grave consequences for Parliamentary democracy. “I sincerely hope that the incidents of yesterday will not be repeated today or in the future,” said Singh.
He informed that Hazare and six others were arrested yesterday, as a preventive measure, under sections 151/107. They were taken to the Delhi Police Officers’ Mess and, subsequently, produced before a magistrate.
Hazare and others refused to furnish personal bonds. Hence, the magistrate remanded the arrested persons to seven days’ judicial custody.
Singh also said during the course of protests yesterday, about 2,600 people were detained in Delhi. All of them were released later in the evening.
“Delhi Police moved the magistrate concerned to review his earlier order and the magistrate was pleased to release Anna Hazare and the other arrested persons at about 7 pm yesterday,” he said, adding that Hazare and others (except one) declined to leave the jail premises unless the government gave an undertaking that they would be permitted to hold their hunger strike exactly where they wanted to — the JP Park.
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