Gandhian anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare will meet with Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi tomorrow as part of his efforts to lobby support for tough anti-corruption organization.
“We want all the parties to support us.. We will meet her and ask her, how can we make sure that corruption can be eliminated (through the bill,)” he said.
Hazare has already met opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani and made his case for a strong Lokpal (ombudsman) in place of the ‘soft’ panel suggested by the Government.
He said he will meet other political party heads as well in the coming days. The Government has called for an all party meeting to decide on the finer aspects of the Lokpal early next month, though some parties have declared they won’t participate in it as their opinion was not sought early on.
Technically, the ruling UPA alliance is ten seats short of a majority in India’s lower house of the Parliament — the Lok Sabha. As a result, even the Government’s full support is not enough to pass the bill, nor can the Government ensure that the bill is not passed either.
Anna and his campaigners want a strong Lokpal with officers right up to the district level, while the Government wants a Delhi-based panel that will have jurisdiction over only certain high ranking officials.
Anna & Co want a Lokpal with greater authority, especially one to which the ordinary people can turn to if a government official demands bribes or fails to do his duty.