Govt rejects Team Anna’s probe-all demand,then sees a ‘foreign’ hand

“Anna is a simple man but he is surrounded by anti-national elements and people who have been supported by foreign forces,” he said.

The protest against the government was run by a few “self-proclaimed leaders” who had never faced the public in an election,he

said,adding that they were trying to destabilise an elected government.

In his letter,he dismissed their demands: “Your demand for the constitution of a Special Investigation Team has been considered,as also the terms of reference suggested by you. Having regard to the fact that the existing legal and statutory framework has adequate and sufficient provisions for addressing the issues raised by you,your demand cannot be acceded to.”

Narayansamy’s letter was in response to a letter sent to the Prime Minister by Team Anna on May 25 in which it gave details of what it called were corruption allegations against the ministers including the PM for alleged irregularities in allotment of coal blocks.

In that letter,Team Anna had demanded a SIT to probe ministers; fast-track courts to deal with these cases,and the transfer of ongoing cases involving politicians from the CBI to this SIT. It had claimed that the CBI had proved to be extremely ineffective in fighting corruption and that institutions like the High Courts and Supreme Court had several times alleged corruption in high places.

Narayansamy countered this: “As regards the allegations made against the Prime Minister,they seem to be based on a leaked draft of the CAG on coal block allocations and on media stories. You have provided no evidence to back up these allegations and you have yourself said that you are not making these allegations. All details of the policy and procedures followed for coal block allocations have been placed in the public domain by the Coal Ministry (on its website). All decisions were taken in public interest on the basis of legal provisions and relevant policy in force. The final report of the CAG has not yet been tabled in Parliament. When it is tabled,the Government will submit detailed responses before the Public Accounts Committee as per Constitutional procedure.”

Reacting to Narayansamy’s letter,Team Anna member Manish Sisodia said: “Our protest from July 25 will go on as planned. The government is trying to show off and fool people by using hollow words like progressive laws will be enacted. The letter the PMO has written to Anna Hazare does not give any proof that the allegations we have made are false.”

BJP president Nitin Gadkari said the use of the term “anti-national” for Hazare’s associates was not right. “I feel calling somebody anti-national is not right. There can be differences of opinion between people in the country but calling somebody,who is agitating against the government,anti-national is not justified and is not right,” he said on the sidelines of a function.

Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar,one of the Ministers in Team Anna’s list,said Hazare must take the legal route instead of simply making allegations. “If you think I have done something wrong,file an FIR against me,drag me to court. Do you believe in our judiciary?” he said in a TV interview.

In his letter,Narayansamy listed all the steps that the government had been taking — both legislative as well as executive — to curb corruption. He gave an account of all anti-corruption legislation in various stages of being enacted,and the measures taken to make governance more transparent. He also said that all the law-enforcement agencies were working as per their mandates.

“Agencies like the CBI,ED (Enforcement Directorate),CAG,and CBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) continue to function independently as per their mandates. In fact,the term of this government has been especially marked by zero interference in the functioning of these agencies. CAG has functioned in an unfettered way in conducting audit of various departments,” Narayansamy said.