Team Anna rejects Lokpal, says rule of 'high-command' will go

Despite a low turnout at Mumbai’s MMRDA Grounds, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal today delivered a fiery speech calling the government’s Lokpal spineless and appealed to the people to uproot the rule of the “party high-command” from the country. “Anna_ji_is correct when he says it is a second war of independence for us. After the Britishers left, the country is suffering from the rule of the party high-command. It is time to seize power from them and give it back to the people,” Kejriwal said. [caption id=“attachment_167669” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Another war cry. PTI”]  [/caption] Blaming the government for going back on its promise of a strong Lokpal, he said, “The Lokpal bill passed in the Lok Sabha yesterday is only a bill passed by the ruling company. The Opposition gave 55 amendments but the treasury benches rejected it.” Turning his ire against the Congress higher-ups, Kejriwal said, “The bill is tailor made to suit the party high-command. Laws have become by the party high-command, for the party high-command and of the party high-command. I pity the politicians. They are bonded labourers of their party high-command. First we have to free them.” Kejriwal said that corruption works for “the party high-command” as it helps funding the party. “Yesterday’s law protects the party high-command because corruption fetches them money,” he said. Kejriwal also attacked Rashtriya Janata Dal chief for opposing Lokpal. “Lalu is opposing Lokpal so that he is saved from the scams he is involved with,” he said. Even the question of giving autonomy to CBI irked Kejriwal. “The government has not given autonomy to CBI. They are using it as a political tool so that when necessary they could unleash it behind Mayawati and Mulayam Singh Yadav,” he said. The Team Anna member also expressed his disappointment for not providing protection to whistleblowers under Lokpal. “In the last one year 13 whistleblowers were killed. The Central Vigilance Commission cannot provide security to whistleblowers with a mere 232 members. It has no money or police to protect whistleblowers. The government is lying. The government has given no money and administrative powers to Lokpal.” Calling the current Lokpal bill much weaker than the August one, Kejriwal said, “Citizen’s Charter should have been a part of Lokpal. It would have made all government job time-bound. But the government did not give such a Citizen’s Charter.” Saying that the fight for a stronger Lokpal has a long way to go, the Team Anna member blasted the government for not including Group C & D employees of the Central government under Lokpal. He also attacked the government for not including Lokayukta under Lokpal. “Even the big private companies break law for their own benefit. But the government did not include them under Lokpal and save the poor people whose land these firms forcibly take away,” he said. Terming the government as anti-people and pro-corrupt, Kejriwal said that the elected representatives are bound to public scrutiny. “We do not have blind faith in anyone because we are human beings. We have faith in Parliamnt but not blind faith. In the last eight months many people took to the streets but yesterday’s bill proved that government is anti-people and supports the corrupt.”