arvind kejriwal on smt sonia gandhis's statement and bihar lokayukta

Arvind Kejriwal on Smt Sonia Gandhi’s statement and Bihar Lokayukta

Arvind Kejriwal’s Tweets:

1. On Sonia Gandhi’s statement: IAC welcomes UPA Chairperson’s commitment on Lokpal. We sincerely hope the Government would honour her commitment of getting a strong and effective Lokpal during the winter session. Mere speeches would not be enough from the Government’s side. 

2. On Bihar Lokayukta:

Bihar Govt’s proposed Lokayukta Bill is a copy of much criticised Centre’s draft against which Anna sat on a fast. For instance:1. Selection, suspension and removal of Lokayukta will be in Govt’s control and therefore it will not be independent.
2. To investigate and prosecute any Govt officer, Lokayukta will need permission from the Govt
3. Punishment to a complainant if he files frivolous complaint and punishment for a corrupt officer is the same (6 months to 5 yrs)
4. Corrupt officers to get free legal assistance provided by Govt against the complainant

These are the same provisions that were there in Central Govt’s draft of Lokpal Bill and Anna sat on a fast against these provisions.
We sincerely wish that Nitish Kumar ji brings a strong Lokayukta Bill on the lines of Uttarakhand

I strongly condemn violence on protesters :

Arvind Kejriwal

In Nagpur, there was a huge gathering. The hall could accommodate less than 1000 people. There were more than double that no seated in a ground just outside the hall with speakers and an LCD screen. The program went off quite well.Almost at the end of the program, I was told by one of the organizers that some people were standing outside the hall with black flags protesting against me. I requested him to call them inside on the stage. “We will talk to them. If they have any doubts, it is our duty to remove those doubts,” I told him.
That person came back after a while and told me that the police had taken them away. I announced from the stage that we are not against anyone and if anyone had any questions, we welcome them. If we are doing anything wrong, kindly let us know. We would try our best to rectify our mistakes.

Today in the morning, I have come to know from newspapers that those protesting against me outside the hall were chased and assaulted by some people sitting in the audience in the ground. Obviously, I did not come to know about these developments because all this was happening outside the hall. The pictures in the newspapers are troublesome. Personally, I am deeply pained to read this.
I strongly condemn the violence on protestors. Everyone has a right to protest. This is a people’s movement against corruption. Every citizen is a part of this movement. Those who were protesting against me are also a part of this movement. They are our friends. If they have any questions or suggestions or grievances, we will talk to them. We should not attack them. I apologise to those who were assaulted and invite them for discussions. If we have been doing anything wrong in the movement, I assure them that we will correct ourselves.
I also urge those friends who assaulted the protestors not to do this in future. Such violence is not only against the basic ethos and philosophy of the movement but would also weaken the movement. Anna keeps saying – “hamare andar apmaan sehne ke shakti honi chahiye. Humen bade se badi kurbani ke liye tayyar rehna hai.” Such acts of violence are contrary to this philosophy. It only shows our impatience. We have to win over people through love and dialogue. Beating them up would alienate them forever and divert the issues.
I urge all those who feel that they are a part of this movement never to indulge in any kind of violence.