constituencies wanted the post of Prime Minister to be under the ambit of the Lokpal and its referendum has shown people’s overwhelming response in favour of the civil society’s version of the Lokpal Bill.
Sibal reacted sarcastically to Team Anna’s opinion poll and its result by remarking: “I think they are being modest by saying only 85 % people support Jan Lokpal Bill. They should have said 100%!”
Anna Hazare’s close associate Arvind Kejriwal announced the opinion poll results at a press conference here saying, “The interim poll shows that majority are with our version of the Lokpal Bill. The people’s view is that the Jan Lokpal Bill version should be accepted. What is to be seen is what Kapil Sibal sees. There should be a public debate. There was an overhelming respose of the people in Kapil Sibal’s constituency.” He claimed that in Maharashtra’s Amravati 1,20,443 people voted out of which 1,18,082 (98 per cent) people voted in favor of the Jan Lokpal Bill. In Mumbai 1,04,006 people voted and 95.04 per cent people supported Team Anna’s draft, Kejriwal claimed.
Anna Hazare, who was also present at the press conference, said he would go ahead with his proposed fast for a strong Lokpal from August 16 at Jantar Mantar as the Government was not interested in tackling corruption menace. He threatened that he and his supporters were even willing to face bullets in order to build a corruption-free India. Hazare claimed that the opinion poll carried out by his supporters in Chandni Chowk showed that whatever Sibal had been saying in the Lokpal Bill drafting joint committee is not what the people of his constituency are saying.
Hazare’s associates claimed they had distributed 400,000 referendum forms, with eight questions each, in Sibal’s constituency which had 1,413,535 registered voters in the 2009 general election. Of the 400,000 forms distributed in Chandni Chowk, 72,000 forms were collected and scrutinized and revealed the following:
• 82 percent agree that the prime minister should come under the Lokpal’s ambit even while he is in office.
• 86 per cent people agree that the judiciary should also come under the Lokpal’s purview.
• 85 per cent agree that a Lokayukta should be appointed in each state.
• 88 per cent people agree that the legislators’ conduct in Parliament should be investigated by an independent Lokpal, not by a committee of members of Parliament as the government proposes.
• 85 per cent of the people surveyed agreed with the demand that if the citizen’s charter is violated, a penalty should be imposed on the guilty officer and it should be paid to the citizen as compensation.
• 84 per cent people agree that the Lokpal, not the concerned minister, should have the power to dismiss a corrupt government officer.
• 89 per cent supported Team Anna’s view that all government officials should be brought within the Lokpal’s jurisdiction.
ANNA HAZARE: If we are not allowed to sit on dharna at Jantar Mantar on August 16, we will court arrest. The police has not even replied to our application till now. The intention of the Government is not right.
ARVIND KEJRIWAL: There has been a huge support for Jan Lokpal Bill. The question is that does the Government’s Lokpal Bill gets the desired support of the people? If the Government is not listening to the people’s view, is it democracy?
KAPIL SIBAL: I think they are being modest by saying only 85 % people support Jan Lokpal Bill. They should have said 100%!