'The govt acted stupidly on the Hazare issue'

The government may have blinked first in the Anna Hazare case and permitted him to continue his fast, the real question remains to be answered: will the real issue be solved with this latest decision?

Professor Dipankar Gupta, a fellow at the Nehru Memorial Museum in New Delhi feels that the government cannot take forever to come to a conclusion on the issue. Gupta explains exactly what the government should do now to salvage the situation:

Letting Anna Hazare go ahead with the fast for now is only a temporary solution. Things may quieten down a bit for now, but if there is no decision on the Jan Lokpal Bill, which is the main issue. Things are bound to flare up yet again in due course of time.

Firstly, the government will need to take up the issue at once in Parliament, and then debate it. It needs to be resolved immediately and they should not take three weeks to settle the matter, since the very purpose will be lost then.

If you had asked me three weeks ago about the Hazare movement, I would have said that the road ahead was very tough for him and his supporters.

By remaining adamant, and worse, carrying out an arrest, the government has behaved in the most brazen manner, which has only made Hazare's battle easier.

What the government ought to have done is give out signals the moment they knew that Hazare would go on fast. Instead, they chose to stay adamant, and are now facing the consequences for the same.

If you would ask me how the movement would be in the days to come, I would say that it is tough to predict. When one talks about social movements, at times, one never understands the logic and this is no different.

One would have to only wait and watch.

With regard to the Bill, I believe it needs to be debated and acted upon. However, there are various issues within the Bill, which I am sure that even the Bharatiya Janata Party may not agree to.