Lokapl Bill: How the government stumbled at every bend

From the very beginning of the Jan Lokpal movement led by Anna Hazare, the government failed to understand the popular sentiment behind it. Here are some mistakes the government could have avoided.

Blunder No. 1

PM Manmohan Singh on March 3, 2011, invited Anna for a discussion and legitimised Anna's standing vis-à-vis the issue of the appointment of an ombudsman

Blunder No. 2

As the number of Anna's supporters at Jantar Mantar began to swell, the government panicked and announced a joint drafting committee. The unprecedented step accorded full legitimacy to Team Anna in drafting an official Bill

Blunder No. 3

The govt courted Ramdev, but its midnight crackdown at the Ramlila Maidan showed its determination to suppress dissent

Blunder No. 4

When the stand-off between Anna and the govt began to climax, neither side budged. Perched on its ivory tower, the govt failed to assess the extent of public anger across the country on the issue of corruption in public offices. The govt started treating Anna as a rival, its ministers began to openly deride the civil society members. This alienated the govt from the masses

Blunder No. 5

The govt 'took on' Anna and his core team by itself. It chose to exclude other political parties from negotiating with Team Anna on the Lokpal Bill In the process, the govt distanced itself further from the Opposition parties, with the BJP reacting strongly

Blunder No. 6

The PM kept wavering on the issue of including his office in the Lokpal's ambit His "helplessness" in the I-Day address conveyed that the govt had no will to take on the corrupt The personal attacks byCongress leaders Kapil Sibal and Manish Tewari painted the ruling dispensation in poor light The offensive mellowed down only after Rahul Gandhi advised his partymen not to launch personal attacks on Anna

Blunder No. 7

City police commissioner B. K. Gupta (right) did repeat flip-flops on allotting Anna a venue for his protest The govt's decision to arrest and release Anna within 12 hours was like eating the proverbial humble pie. It led to a groundswell of public support for the septuagenarian crusader

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