Country heading towards dictatorship: Anna Hazare

GREATER NOIDA: Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare attacked the Narendra Modi-led government on Sunday, saying the country was heading towrads a dictatorship under the current regi-me as bills were being passed in Parliament without any discussion.
Hazare accused Modi of going back on the promises he had made during the campaign for Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and said the NDA government had diluted the Lokpal Bill by removing some crucial provisions like the mandatory disclosure of property by government servants and their family members.

Hazare addressed a 500-strong gathering of villagers from across Gautam Budh Nagar in Dadri's Beel Akbarpur. He spoke to the media thereafter.

The corruption crusader gave a call to farmers and residents of the district to participate in an agitation to be held in Delhi on March 23 over farmers' issues. The meeting has been planned to raise demands like better price for crops, the Jan Lokpal Bill and changes in the electoral process. Hazare said that neither the BJP nor the previous Congress-led governments had acted for a strong Lokpal, but a subversive law was passed in July 2016 without any discussion in Parliament. "The agenda for our agitation will be farmers' issues. The other will be the Jan Lokpal. The Narendra Modi government is moving towards a dictatorship. This is a big threat to the nation. Why am I saying this? The entire country had stood up and agitated for the Lokpal Bill, which resulted in the government making a law. When this government came, it was believed it will help pass the bill. Instead, it formulated another law to dilute the previous Lokpal and the Lokayuktas Act, 2013," he said.

"There was a provision in the bill that any government official had to disclose the property held by his wife and children on March 31 every year. They removed this provision and closed down a way to eliminate corruption in the bureaucracy. Now, they are giving full-page advertisements about corruption-free India even as they are diluting the law," he added.

Hazare said that the Jan Lokpal Bill could not be passed even after all these years and The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2016, was passed by both Houses without any discussion. "If in Parliament, bills are passed without any discussion, it means we are heading towards a dictatorship. When the Prime Minister was about to enter Parliament for the first time, he said he was entering the purest temple of democracy and that he believes in discussion," he said.

Calling for reforms in the electoral process, Hazare said the option of Nota was ineffective in the current form.

"Democracy will come when party symbols go away. I call for the right to reject and the right to recall. It was our demand that in case the maximum number of votes falls for Nota, the election should be cancelled and conducted afresh," he said.

Hazare, however, agreed with the PM and the President's call for a debate on holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and the state Assemblies, saying the move would help save a lot of money spent on ads.

Manish Sharma, chief media coordinator of BJP in Gautam Budh Nagar, said the party strongly condemned Hazare's allegations.