that the Gandhian has the wisdom to decide what is best for him and the country. He maintained that Hazare and his associates had wanted to create an authority outside the system, which would be accountable to nobody and asserted that this could not be allowed to happen. Asked why the committee could not firm up a common draft and wound up in bitterness, Sibal said, On certain very significant issues, there was a huge divergence of perception and opinion, and the twain could not meet. Insisting that bringing Prime Minister under Lokpal was never the central issue of the committees discussions, Sibal said, I think the basic issue was how do you set up an authority outside the system not accountable to anybody.
How do you ensure that that the authority, which is outside the system, will function in a chaste manner, uncorrupted, only because it is under the Lokpal. These are the essential issues that were of concern to us, on which, of course, there was huge divergence of opinion. Rejecting Hazares contention that he was not seeking to create a parallel structure, the minister said the activists comparison of the Jan Lokpal with institutions like CVC and CBI was completely arduous. On the issue regarding Ramdev, Sibal said the government was able to expose what the yoga teacher stood for.
We exposed him in the sense that actually he was negotiating with us and giving promises to us and was doing just the opposite at Ramlila ground contrary to the permission granted, he said.
Sibal dismissed suggestions that the government was embarrassed over four union ministers visiting Ramdev at the airport and that there was a sense of uneasiness in the party on the issue.
Ultimately the government was able to expose what Ramdev really stood for. Had we not met him, we would never have been able to expose him, he said. PTI
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