Voice of dissent erupts amid celebrations

Amid murmurs of dissent that names of the father-son duo of Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan figured in the notification for joint panel to draft the Lokpal bill, Anna Hazare's colleague on Saturday dismissed it as a non-issue and asked if they are going to get a red beacon car. What next | Different voices | What is Lokpal Bill | Timeline | Pics

Amid murmurs of dissent that names of the father-son duo of Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan figured in the notification for joint panel to draft the Lokpal bill, Anna Hazare's colleague on Saturday dismissed it as a non-issue and asked if they are going to get a red beacon car.

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Apart from Hazare, names of Arvind Kejriwal, Justice N Santosh Hedge, Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan figured in the notification issued by the government as part of the committee formed for drafting the Lokpal bill.

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev reportedly criticised the names of the father-son duo, calling it as nepotism. Hazare's colleague and one of the leaders spearheading the India Against Corruption movement, Kejriwal said, "It is not right to belittle them (the father- son duo). It is a mere coincident that they are in the committee. Each of them is a mighty lawyer. This issue is unnecessary.

When asked why name of Kiran Bedi, another leader associated with the movement, did not figure in the list, Kejriwal said, "These were the people who drafted the bill we prepared. With the government posing five lawyers, each point needs to be argued out in a proper manner. Moreover, Kiran Bedi herself said no."

There were grumbling voices from common people too. Hemant Kumar Jha, who has been keenly observing the developments, asked, "Why are there no representative from opposition leaders in the draft committee?"