Team Anna's 'blackmailing' unacceptable, says Gehlot

Speaking after releasing a booklet on the eve of the completion of three years of his government at the Congress headquarters in Jaipur, he said Anna’s movement would subvert parliamentary democracy in the country.

Undemocratic

He said Parliament was the supreme law-making body in democracy and Anna’s threat of another fast, if his version of the Lokpal Bill was not accepted, was undemocratic and went against the spirit of the Constitution.

He said the Congress was not against any legitimate protest but Anna’s “blackmailing” was unacceptable, Gehlot said.

“The government have to consider diverse views to arrive at a consensus on an issue. It cannot go by the dictates of one person,” he said.

Anna and his team’s behaviour was a reflection of their “arrogance” and contempt for democratic institutions. The team ran down, media, judiciary, politicians and bureaucrats, all the main pillars of democracy, and assumed a holier-than-thou attitude, he said.

Gehlot questioned Anna’s sarcastic remarks after Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar was slapped, saying was a reflection of his real character.