Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh on Monday (August01) slammed India's veteran social activist Anna Hazare for trying to enforce his demands in the Ombudsman Bill by threatening to undertake an indefinite hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar, a protest site, in New Delhi.
Singh while talking to mediapersons in Varanasi town in northern India's Uttar Pradesh said that it is not the responsibility of government to decide whether Anna Hazare would sit on a fast or not.
"This is not my job to stop him (Anna Hazare, India's noted social activist) or to ask him to sit here (at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi).
Q: Anna Hazrae says that the Bill is not correct?
A: Tell me who will pass the Bill (Ombudsman Bill), Anna Hazare or the Parliament? Who has got more powers the Indian constitution or Anna Hazare? So, let the Parliament decide," said Singh.
The Delhi Police refused to grant permission to social activist Anna Hazare and his team from holding the hunger strike from August 16 to pressurize the federal government for passing the Lokpal (Ombudsman Bill).
The fast was scheduled to be held at the national capital's Jantar Mantar venue after the previous talks in the drafting committee of the Bill between the government and the activists failed.
Singh also criticised northern India's Uttar Pradesh state chief Mayawati for the recent upheaval in her own native village f Badalpur against land acquisition by the government.
Accusing the Mayawati government of robbing the people, the Congress party leader also said that if the state government returned back the looted money to the farmers a settlement would be reached.
"The money which Mayawati has forcibly looted from the farmers and filled her own pockets, if she returns that amount then we would reach a settlement," Singh added.
About 50 farmers of the village have petitioned the Allahabad High Court against acquisition of their land by the state government of Uttar Pradesh saying they were not paid adequate compensation when their land was snatched.
Singh further said the Congress party was not happy with the action taken by the state administration against the police officials who had brutally attacked the villagers in Bhatta-Parsaul village of Greater Noida.
"In the villages there was corruption prevalent in NREGA (National Rural Employment Generation Scheme). The state government has acted against 100 people but we are not happy with the process. We want an FIR (First Information Report) to be lodged against them," he added.
The government had to put an 'urgency clause' to take over 230 hectares of land in the village area after the state government revealed that the land would be used for laying out parks and roads instead of industrial purposes.
The regional Bahujan Samaj Party-led Uttar Pradesh government had taken over several hectares of farmers' land in the state under the provisions of the Land Acquisition Act for industrial projects, but later converted them to residential projects.
Earlier this year the state witnessed fierce altercation between the police and farmers of Bhatta-Parsaul village of Greater Noida over the acquisition of their land, which resulted in the death of four persons, including two policemen.
Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh slams India's veteran social activist for trying to enforce his demands in the Ombudsman Bill by threatening to undertake an indefinite hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar in New Delhi.
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
VARANASI, UTTAR PRADESH, INDIA (AUGUST 01, 2011) (ANI-NO ACCESS BBC)
1. 'LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI AIRPORT VARANASI' WRITTEN ON A BOARD
2. DIGVIJAY SINGH, SENIOR CONGRESS LEADER ARRIVING TO ADDRESS MEDIAPERSONS
3. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DIGVIJAY SINGH, SENIOR CONGRESS LEADER, SAYING:
"This is not my job to stop him (Anna Hazare, India's noted social activist) or to ask him to sit here (at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi).
Q: Anna Hazrae says that the Bill is not correct?
A: Tell me who will pass the Bill (Ombudsman Bill), Anna Hazare or the Parliament? Who has got more powers the Indian constitution or Anna Hazare? So, let the Parliament decide."
4. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DIGVIJAY SINGH, SENIOR CONGRESS LEADER, SAYING:
"The money which Mayawati has forcibly looted from the farmers and filled her own pockets, if she returns that amount then we would reach a settlement."
5. (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DIGVIJAY SINGH, SENIOR CONGRESS LEADER, SAYING:
"In the villages there was corruption prevalent in NREGA (National Rural Employment Generation Scheme). The state government has acted against 100 people but we are not happy with the process. We want an FIR (First Information Report) to be lodged against them."
6. SINGH TALKING WITH PARTY MEMBERS
7. SINGH GETTING INSIDE A CAR
8. CARS LEAVING
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