Anna Hazare wants Gram sabhas to have more powers than Parliament

Decrying the failure of Rajya Sabha to pass the Lokpal bill, Anna Hazare on Thursday made a curious suggestion to bring a law to empower gram sabhas that will be above Parliament.

In a video address to Team Anna’s seminar ‘Rebuilding the Republic’, the civil society activist said people will have to be ready for a big agitation like the one for Jan Lokpal Bill if the government does not bring a law for empowering village sabhas.

“Lok Sabha thinks it is above everyone. This is wrong. People have made you. So they are above you... It is the sacred temple of democracy. In such a sacred place, what has happened in Rajya Sabha in the last day (of the Winter Session) on Lokpal Bill.

“550 people were giving their own suggestions. Nobody has asked people. So we need another law. Assemblies and Lok Sabha think that they are above gram sabhas. But gram sabhas are above you. We need a new law which gives such a power to gram sabhas,” he said in his 30-minute address.

Asserting that the incidents during the last day of Rajya Sabha’s Winter Session was wrong, Hazare added, “The elected members were giving their views on their own. This is not right democracy. Why this happened? Because the masters were sleeping.”

He said there should be provisions in the new law that a panchayat can be dismissed if it spends money without consulting the gram sabha and getting their consent. Arguing for strong gram sabhas, Hazare cited the acquisition process for Special Economic Zones saying the owners in the villages and the village sabhas do not know when the government acquires their land straightaway without their permission.

“When we close eyes to visuals of Parliament, we see the faces of (more than) 163 other criminals sitting there. I don’t remember there was a movement such big where people came to streets in such numbers for a law. Then Lalu Prasad says no MP wants Lokpal. How do we believe that they represent us?”

- Asian Tribune -

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