New Delhi, Monday, June 13, 2011:The Anna Hazare camp today wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to push for inclusion of his post in the ambit of Lokpal, arguing that a step otherwise would be “retrograde”.

They also took on Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for accusing the civil society of trying to undermine democracy and said his statement betrays a “distorted understanding of democracy and arrogance of power”.

Two days ahead of the next meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill, its five activist members, including Hazare, sent a letter to Singh alleging that the government seems to be shrinking the scope of the anti-corruption regime.

“Taking the Prime Minister out of the ambit the Lokpal would be a retrograde step,” the letter said.

(News agency)