PM makes a U turn, civil society camp plans an eat till death campaign


New Delhi:  In what many are labeling as an outright deceit, the Manmohan Singh led UPA government, in consultation with the President, overturned the resolution to adopt crusader Anna Hazare’s list of demand. This has raised hackles in the civil society camp.

Contrary to popular belief, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did address the country at 3:35 AM on Tuesday morning.  India TV broadcasted the short address. “I am deeply disturbed by the unfortunate events in the past few days. The country has been hijacked by an astute team which calls themselves the civil society. This is unthinkable in any democracy. It is my responsibility to uphold the democratic traditions of our country. In consonance with this objective, I, by the powers vested in me by the constitution, have decided to temporarily overturn the resolution. The parliament will deliberate the matter tomorrow which will be followed by a vote,” a cautious Prime Minister said.

Political commentators are aghast. “Was that really the Prime Minister?,” Rajdeep Sardesai posted on twitter, “If so, why was he wearing a red turban?,” he went to add. The nation is in a state of disbelief. Many were still skeptical till this morning. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) scrambled to set matters right and confirmed that the Prime Minister did address the country. PMO officials refused to comment on his decision to choose India TV or the wee hours of morning for his brief address.



A crestfallen Kiran Bedi addressed the media this morning. “We were within ambsace of fighting the deadly menace of corruption. This is a sordid miscarriage of justice,” a crying Bedi mumbled.  In a move to to attract more people to the movement, the camp is planning an ‘eat untill death’ campaign. The rural poor are expected to join the campaign.


“We will expend the money raised for the India Against Corruption Campaign to procure the food. Donations are welcome for this stage of the movement. Preparing and buying food will be expensive, but I am certain people will donate generously to further the cause,” a proud Prashant Bhushan said.

When asked about the whereabouts of Anna Hazare who was, not surprisingly, declared missing at 3:30 AM, Mr. Bhushan had this to say. “Anna Ji was deeply hurt by the government’s volte-face. He evaded the security personnel and escaped from the hospital donned in a burqa. He is walking to Feroz Shah Kotla stadium from where he will declare this stage of the movement open. That is if the government does not send a police posse to arrest us of course."


The Anna camp is in talks with the Delhi Police and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials to finalise the venues in the city. More than 2 million people are expected to join the campaign. Given the unique nature of the ‘eat untill death’ movement, the rural poor are expected to swoop into the capital from UP and Bihar to embolden the campaign.

Meanwhile, the parliament is in a state of pandemonium and was adjourned twice due to noise complaints from a posh South Delhi colony. The Lok Sabha TV has been temporarily blocked. The Ministry of Broadcast cited technical problems and assured the media that the problem will be rectified once the crucial  vote is casted by the members. According to news reports, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will secure the necessary votes to overturn the resolution passed earlier this week.


Ishaan Saxena is a New Delhi based political commentator.





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