NEW DELHI: Facing a relentless haemorrhage in political and moral authority, the Manmohan Singh government on Wednesday came under severe pressure to give in to anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare's demand for holding his fast in the Capital without any conditions.
Delhi Police and Team Anna were engaged in hectic negotiations till late in the evening as the 73-year-old Gandhian refused to accept a conditional agitation. Police sources said Ramlila Maidan would be offered to the protestors.
On a day of now-on and now-off announcements, social activists Swami Agnivesh and Medha Patkar told cheering supporters in the morning that Anna would come out of Tihar jail anytime and they should be prepared to proceed to JP Park in a peaceful manner.
Anna, however, seemed to have other plans when he called close associates Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and Manish Sisodia, and discussed his strategy even as he continued his fast for the second day.
Bedi came out and announced that consultations were on and that Anna would not come out anytime soon. Pending a final agreement between his team and Delhi Police, Anna spent the second night in Tihar. The hard bargaining came on a day the government came under renewed attack in Parliament over Anna's arrest. Rallies and protests, including a huge procession from India Gate to Parliament House, continued across the country.
In Parliament, the Opposition attacked the prime minister for the government's 'arrogance' in dealing with public protests. "Smugness and arrogance have become the defining features of your government. You have no will to fight corruption," leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley told the prime minister after he read out a statement on Anna's arrest in Parliament.
In his statement, the prime minister defended Delhi Police's decision to arrest the Gandhian. He also termed the social activist's attempts to impose his Jan Lokpal Bill on Parliament as totally misconceived.
"All of us agree that the Lokpal Bill should be passed by Parliament. The question is who drafts the law and who passes the law. It is the sole prerogative of Parliament to make laws and the government has gone by well-settled principles," the prime minister said.
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