Strategy in pipeline by Congress to take on Anna Hazare

Congress President Sonia Gandhi has convened a meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the highest policy making body of the party, for damage control on the Lokpal Bill. Concerned over Anna Hazare team trying to discredit the UPA government in the eyes of public, she wants the party to firm up a strategy to take the civil right activists on by exposing the canard they are spreading.

The CWC meeting is also expected to endorse in toto the ministerial draft of the Lokpal Bill released on Tuesday at the end of the drafting committee meeting. This will be the first CWC meeting to be convened since its re-constitution in March. The earlier two meetings were confined to passing condolence resolutions on the demise of Arjun Singh and Arunachal Chief Minister Khandu Dorjee.

The Congress core group has been advising the government on the Bill's formulation by holding meetings from time to time, but latest CWC meeting will be the first to draft all party leaders for discussing the political fallout of the civil right activists' campaign.

Though the ministerial draft of the Lokpal Bill is silent on bringing the Prime Minister under its ambit, the CWC may suggest his inclusion with some riders to ensure any malafide complaints before the proposed ombudsman do not paralyse the government.