Indian leader suggests Hazare's demands simplistic

[August 22, 2011]  NEW DELHI (AP) -- Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare is unhappy with the Indian government's response to his hunger strike, aides said Monday, as the prime minister appeared staunch against caving to the activist's demands.

As Hazare entered his seventh day of fasting, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave a nationally televised speech suggesting the activist was unfairly accusing the government of condoning corruption while ignoring the difficulty of rooting it out.

"All right-thinking persons agreed on the need to tackle all these forms of corruption," Singh said. "But I feel the complexity of the task is not adequately appreciated. There is no magic wand that can solve the problem in one stroke."

Hazare -- surrounded daily by TV cameras and thousands of supporters during his fast -- has vowed to fast indefinitely unless authorities adopt his version of legislation setting up a powerful anti-corruption watchdog office by Aug. 30.

The diminutive 73-year-old has rejected the government's draft bill as too weak because it does not include the judiciary and prime minister's office under the proposed watchdog's purview. Singh said the draft is a working document submitted to Parliament for debate toward reaching a broad national consensus, which "will take time and effort, but it can be done."

"All concerned individuals should convey their concerns on different aspects of the bill" to their elected representatives, Singh said. "We are open to a reasoned debate on all issues."

But the solution to corruption, he said, would require more extensive reforms toward speeding up the court system.

Hazare's campaign -- following a string of embarrassing, high-profile scandals -- has touched a nerve in a country wearied by rampant corruption at all levels of government. Nearly all walks of life from poor rural farmers to urban middle-class professionals complain of having to pay bribes for basic services including health care, school admission and death certificates.

Since Hazare began his fast, thousands carrying signs saying "I am Anna Hazare" have protested in cities across India.

The media have devoted near-nonstop coverage to the campaign, with TV stations giving urgent updates on Hazare's weight. By Monday, he had lost 11 pounds (5 kilograms). Authorities are required to intervene if Hazare's life is at risk, as suicide is illegal in India.

Hazare's aides complained Monday that the government was failing to meet the campaign's demands. Activist Arvind Kejriwal said a government proposal aimed placating Hazare's concerns made no concessions.

"None of our demands has been included. There is no agreement between civil society and government," Kejriwal said.

But critics are increasingly taking aim at Hazare's campaign, saying it is dangerous to India's democracy in trying to subvert the legislative process.

Some have also questioned the wisdom of Hazare's insistence that the proposed anti-corruption watchdog have authority over the judiciary and the prime minister -- an uncommon feature in Western democracies where sitting judges and top elected officials are usually immune to prosecution so they do not become mired in lawsuits launched by political opponents.

Meanwhile, India's Parliament has made little progress on addressing pressing issues like malnutrition and land reform as its lawmakers bicker over corruption allegations. The government faces allegations over the murky sale of cellphone licenses and last year's Commonwealth Games, which are estimated to have lost the country up to $40 billion. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party is mired in a multibillion-dollar bribery scandal over mining contracts in southern India.

[Associated Press; By KATY DAIGLE]

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