Govt upset with Anna's ultimatum

The government on Wednesday expressed unhappiness over the anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare's ultimatum to it on the Lokpal Bill issue and asked him to be patient till the winter session of parliament.

The government on Wednesday expressed unhappiness over the anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare's ultimatum to it on the Lokpal Bill issue and asked him to be patient till the winter session of parliament.

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"You cannot get something done by putting a pistol on someone's neck," parliamentary affairs minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said.

Asking Hazare to have faith in the democratic setup, he said, "The Bill has already gone to Parliament. Important thing is to make an effective law..."

His comments came a day after Hazare warned the Congress that if the Jan Lokpal bill was not passed in the coming winter session of Parliament, he would campaign in five election-bound states asking people not to vote for the party.

Law minister Salman Khurshid said, "Our intention and endeavour is to try and bring it (Lokpal Bill) in the winter session."

Asked about the time line to pass the Bill, he said, "I cannot fix the time line because it has to be fixed by the parliamentary affairs minister and the chairman of the parliamentary standing committee looking into it."