"People cannot make law", says Aruna Roy

CHENNAI: In an apparent criticism of social activist Anna Hazare and his protest for passing Lokpal bill, National Advisory Committee member Aruna Roy on Thursday said "people cannot make a law" and it had to be done by a drafting committee.

"Law has to be looked at it detail. If you change one comma or one fullstop a right becomes no right. People can demand a law, people can say what kind of principle should be in a law... But law cannot be drafted by the people and we can't do the rubber stamp either. We have to set up a drafting committee and it should draft a law," Roy said while delivering a lecture here.

Referring to reported remarks of team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal that "if Anna says it is the right thing, people will rubber stamp it," Roy said, "Our argument is that no one should rubber stamp. "

"We don't mean to say that the three or ten people will be given full authority on what they want in that nor are we saying that people do not have the right to say what they want to say," she said.

Slamming media for making "a black and white debate" reporting on the issue, she questioned "Can we allow the electronic media to take hold the definition of the democracy for us?"

Roy had earlier said Anna Hazare was "ill-adviced" in going on the recent fast at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi demanding passage of Lokpal Bill.