Mumbai: Welcoming Anna Hazare's decision to
end his three-day fast ahead of schedule, Maharashtra Chief
Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Wednesday said the social activist
shouldn't have gone ahead with his protest when Parliament was
set to debate the Lokpal Bill.
"He (Hazare) shouldn't have gone ahead with the fast as
the debate was going on in Parliament on the Lokpal Bill. The
government was trying to meet his demand that the Bill be
passed in the winter session of Parliament," he told reporters
on the sidelines of a function here.
The chief minister hailed as "a good decision" the
74-year-old Gandhian's move to end his fast, which he started
yesterday to protest a "weak" anti-corruption legislation
brought by the government.
Chavan congratulated Hazare, who is not keeping well, for
calling off his fast and said if the veteran activist or his
supporters wanted to get engaged in politics, they should
contest elections.
"I had requested him to withdraw his fast yesterday as
there were concerns about his health. I had told him that all
of his demands could not be accepted. Parliament is the
supreme institution, which represents the people of the
country. The law enacted by Parliament should be accepted,"
Chavan said.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 28, 2011, 19:51