New Delhi: As social activist Anna
Hazare continued his indefinite fast for the second day on the
Lokpal Bill issue, Congress on Wednesday stuck to its stand that the
agitation was premature as government was open to all
suggestions.
"The fast by Anna Hazare was premature and in a
democracy debates should be held before a policy is framed,"
party spokesperson Jayanthi Natarjan told reporters here.
Hazare has slammed the Congress for "misleading" the
people by dubbing his agitation as unnecessary and premature.
Natarajan said, "While many people won't agree on the
Lokpal Bill and have different shades of opinion on the issue,
the NAC and other fora are already discussing the proposed
legislation.... the far reaching changes suggested by Hazare
need broad discussions before a final draft can be arrived
at."
At the same time, she added that "no time frame can be
set" for taking such decisions as they require wider
consultations.
The party had yesterday also termed the indefinite
hunger strike by Hazare as "premature", saying the government
had already constituted a panel headed by Defence Minister AK
Antony to go into the issue.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, April 06, 2011, 16:01