I will present flowers to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on December 27 if an effective lokpal bill is passed in the ongoing winter session of Parliament, social activist Anna Hazare said in the Tamil Nadu capital on Sunday.
But he warned of protests if the government failed to pass the anti-graft legislation.
Hazare said he would go ahead with his indefinite fast from December 27 if his key demands - including citizens' charter in the draft lokpal bill and bringing the Central bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the functional control of the anti-corruption watchdog - were not met. He added bringing Group C and D employees under the lokpal was also non-negotiable because they were the "people the poor interact with".
Hazare said if the government wavered he would initiate the proposed 'jail bharo' agitation. "From January 1, all jails in the country should be filled."
Former Karnataka lokayukta and Hazare aide justice N Santosh Hegde said the CBI should be made independent to effectively fight corruption.
Referring to criticism that laws could not be made on the streets and Parliament's supremacy should be respected, Hegde said, "Parliament, executive and judiciary are under the control of the Constitution, which we the people of India have given ourselves."
{{/usCountry}}Referring to criticism that laws could not be made on the streets and Parliament's supremacy should be respected, Hegde said, "Parliament, executive and judiciary are under the control of the Constitution, which we the people of India have given ourselves."
{{/usCountry}}Talking about calls made to Team Anna to desist from setting deadlines before the government, Hegde said the ruling class had taken 46 years to enact a law for the appointment of lokayuktas recommended by the second administrative committee. "How much longer do we have to wait?"
With inputs from agencies