New Delhi, Oct 25 (ANI): In an apparent reference to veteran social activist Anna Hazare's latest comments, Union Law and Justice Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday urged the civil society activists to communicate directly with the Central Government rather through media.
Khurshid requested the media to not create a wedge between the civil society and the government.
"My request to you (media) is please don't create greater distance between civil society and the government. Things will be said. People, who think that they should say something, will say. I don't think that we should engage in a dialogue of this kind through the media. Whoever needs to talk, I am sure we have a lot of channels by which we can talk directly. I don't think we should encourage discord and distancing between civil society and the government," Khurshid told mediapersons here.
"Whoever is trying to create a rift between the civil society and the government is not serving our society. In our democracy, every one has got their own viewpoints and there should be an exchange of viewpoints, there should be a dialogue and after that whatever result comes, if it is in favour of the common man, we should accept it. I don't think that by putting our viewpoints through the media, we can come closer," he added.
Hazare had on Monday night hit out against a 'gang of four' in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government, which he said was opposed to the Jan Lokpal bill and was carrying out a systematic 'character assassination' of his team members.
"To accuse and humiliate seems to be the mantra of these few. I do not blame all the ministers in the Congress party or the government as a whole. There are some righteous and committed people in the government but they cannot raise their voice because of this gang of four," said Hazare in his latest blog posted on Monday night.
Responding to a question on the accusations made by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after Amar Singh got bail in the cash-for-vote-scam that its own whistle blowers are in jail, while those who actually went ahead and paid the bribes those persons have been released, Khurshid said: "I have said to you before and I will say it again I don't want running commentary on what courts are doing. Any thing BJP feels it should say inside court, why say it outside court."
The BJP had on Monday sought 'justice' for its members and demanded action against those who benefited from such dubious deals.
"Amar Singh has got bail in the cash-for-vote (case) on health grounds. The people, who were whistleblowers and exposed the scandal, are in jail. They too should get justice. Why those people, who were involved and are beneficiaries of the cash-for-vote (scandal), are at large?" BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain told mediapersons in Bhagalpur, Bihar.
In a temporary relief to Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh, the Delhi High Court on Monday granted bail to him in the 2008 cash-for-vote case but restrained him from leaving the country without its permission.
While granting bail to 55-year-old Singh, who was undergoing treatment at AIIMS under judicial custody, the court asked him to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50 lakh and two sureties of like amount.
It may be recalled here that a Delhi Court had last week denied bail to Sudheendra Kulkarni, former aide of BJP leader L K Advani, and an accused in the cash-for-vote case.
Besides Kulkarni, the court also dismissed the bail pleas of two former BJP MPs Faggan Singh Kulaste and Mahabir Singh Bhagora, named as accused in the case, for receiving illegal gratification.
The cash-for-votes scam had rocked proceedings in the Lok Sabha in 2008, when the ruling UPA Government, led by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, allegedly bribed lawmakers of other parties to help in wining the confidence vote. (ANI)
|
|
Comments:
