Team Anna split out in the open as accusations fly

New Delhi: The fissures in Team Anna are out in the open even as anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare and his associates are involved in an all-out war against the UPA government over the Lokpal Bill. Anna Hazare's fight against corruption started on a non-political platform, but his call to the Hisar electorate to not vote for the Congress party seems to have split his team with some members opening questioning the need to take a political stand.

Moreover, it is not only the political posture of Hazare and a part of Team Anna that seems to have upset some of his associates. The development comes even as Anna Hazara has not only cleared the air over his close associate senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan's continuance in his team after his controversial remarks calling for plebiscite in Kashmir Valley, but also said that he was willing to fight Pakistan.

Following Bhushan's comment, Hazare had also said that his continuation in Team Anna would be reconsidered following the controversial remark that also resulted in an attack on Bhushan by three people inside his chamber in the Supreme Court.

But the latest case of friction has come to the fore after the anti-Congress campaign carried out by Hazare and his close associates Arvind Kejriwal during the Hisar by-election.

Two Core Committee members PV Rajagopal and 'Waterman' Rajendra Singh have decided to disassociate themselves from the anti-corruption crusader's campaign alleging that the entire movement has turned political.
Even as Rajagopal said that the team was "putting pressure" on him not to quit, he pointed out that there are serious differences between Hazare and Bhushan.

Magsaysay Award winner Rajendra Singh told CNN-IBN that he was "never informed of the decision to campaign against the Congress". He also accused Kejriwal of being "undemocratic".

"I was working with Anna on several things like water management, land issues and other issue, but what has been taking place in last few days is wrong. I was called for a meeting on few occasions, but I am not in favour of party politics. Every movement is political in nature, but not party politics and that’s why I told them that I don’t want to be a member of a team which is involved in party politics," he said.

Singh's views were also echoed by another Hazare associate Professor HM Desarda who accused Kejriwal and another Team Anna member and former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Kiran Bedi of using the anti-corruption crusader.

"My association with Anna Hazare is more then 25 years. Such a genuine cause has been hijacked by people for their narrow ambition. I wrote a letter to Anna and appealed to him that it would not be wise thing to confront entire Parliament process. Kiran Bedi and Kejriwal used to go to BJP leaders LK Advani and Sushma Swaraj and took instruction from the BJP. That's why I advise Anna that it would not be wise to be with Kiran Bedi," claimed Desarda.

Even former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde, who was chosen by Anna Hazare as one of the civil society representatives in the Lokpal Bill Drafting Committee, has voiced his disapproval of the anti-Congress campaign by Team Anna in Hisar by-poll.

However, Kiran Bedi downplayed the news of Rajagopal and Singh distancing themselves from their anti-corruption campaign

"I have heard about it. They haven't told me why they are leaving. It is a voluntary group. These are all volunteers, we are all volunteers. Anyone can come and leave anytime," said Bedi.
She declined to accept that cracks were appearing within Team Anna and instead reiterated that the movement for a strong Lokpal would continue.

"Anna is a pivotal force. We are all bound to him. There are no cracks. People are coming around Anna. He is the architect of this movement. There will be differences of opinion, (but) the single unifier is the Jan Lokpal," she said.

Meanwhile, Hazare took another swipe at Bhushan over his controversial Kashmir plebiscite remark.
Writing in his blog on Tuesday Hazare said that he is even willing to fight against Pakistan for Kashmir as against those who merely talk. He pointed out that as an armyman, he had taken an active part in the India-Pakistan war and also survived a bullet injury. He added that Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so.

In his blog, he wrote, "This is my active conviction that Kashmir is an integral part of India and will remain so. Today once again if I have to, I am ready to take part in war against Pakistan. But some people can only speak and don't do anything on ground in reality for Kashmir and this is unfortunate."

The cracks in Team Anna first appeared during Hazare's indefinite fast at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi when his then associate Swami Agnivesh was heard talking on phone to someone called Kapilji, who was assumed to be Union Minister Kapil Sibal, and criticising Team Anna for its stubborn ways. The team dissociated with Agnivesh completely after the episode.

Now it seems that more than Anna versus the government, it appears to be like Team Anna versus its own members.

Anna factor will benefit us: Ajay Singh Chautala

Hisar: Indian National Lok Dal candidate in Hisar by-polls Ajay Singh Chautala, on Monday, said that Anna Hazare's team's campaign will benefit his party in the polls. The results of the by-polls will be announced on Monday.

Chautala also claimed that the initial leads were in his favour.

He added, "The chargesheet against me was prepared by the Congress. No one can prove any corruption charges against me."

Ajay Singh Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal is former chief minister Om Prakash Chautala's son. Ajay is the MLA from Dabwali in Sirsa.

Team Anna in Hisar: Wrong cause, wrong election, wrong rhetoric

Team Anna’s decision to jump into the fray in the Hisar by-election is a mistake, period. And not for the usual reasons. It matters less if their stance strengthens the BJP, or if they are perceived as its allies. Nor is there anything wrong with a civil society group getting involved in electoral politics. The problem is that the leaders of the movement seem to have lost sight of their cause, which is fighting corruption – not the Congress party. And in doing so, they have chosen the wrong battle at the wrong place at the wrong time.

And here are three reasons why:

One, wrong cause. Anna Hazare went on a fast in August for an excellent reason. The proposed UPA Lokpal bill was a mockery of the very intent of the legislation, and the government clearly had no intention of meeting Anna’s demand that the bill be proposed and passed in the monsoon session. The deadline ran out and he headed to Ram Lila.

But the reasoning for this confrontation in Hisar is murky, to say the least. Anna wants the government to pass the Lokpal bill during the winter Parliamentary session, which will begin in November. The government can hardly be in violation of a deadline that has not yet arrived. So why punish the Congress for breaches of faith yet to be committed? Demands not yet rejected?

“Do not vote for Congress during the Hisar by-poll as we are yet to receive a letter of support from the party supporting the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament,” says Hazare. Kejriwal even specifies that nothing less than a letter from Sonia Gandhi will do. So the recent letter from the Prime Minister of India clearly won’t do because he doesn’t count for Team Anna.

Now Arvind Kejriwal is saying, “If the Congress passes the Jan Lokpal Bill tomorrow, we will immediately withdraw our campaign.” Down we go the slippery slope of unreasonable demands…

There’s been much talk about “sending a message” but the only message here is that Team Anna is itching for any excuse for a fight with the ruling party. Perhaps because it keeps them in the spotlight and maintains the momentum gathered from the August fast. This is more a PR battle — or more likely vendetta — than a just war.

Two, wrong election. Hisar may seem like an obvious choice given Kejriwal’s local roots. But it was likely also chosen for another more dubious reason: Hisar also promises an easy win. The Congress party candidate is an underdog in the fight, and is unlikely to win – with or without Anna’s intervention. But by expediently relabeling the election as a “referendum on the Lokpal bill” – and rallying voters against a man already slated to lose — Team Anna is well-positioned to take credit for his defeat, and make it a symbol of popular will.

Nice idea except Raj Prakash is the cleanest and the least wealthy of the three candidates in the fray. To offer aid and comfort – even by default — to the likes of Ajay Singh Chautala and Kuldeep Bishnoi is hardly the way to promote the anti-corruption cause. Chautala has two pending cases of corruption, cheating and criminal conspiracy against him. And Bishnoi faces a case for attempted murder. Both are fabulously rich heirs of political dynasties with no apparent source of income.

“After all, these elected Congress candidates with a clean image will follow only the party high command’s whip and not listen to their conscience,” rebuts Anna when presented with such inconvenient facts. Kejriwal’s comeback is equally unconvincing: “We never said that Chautala or Bishnoi is better than anyone else. If Chautala is facing charges, there is all the more reason for us to fight for the Jan Lokpal Bill so that anyone who indulges in corruption, irrespective of whosoever he may be, is punished promptly for his misdeeds.” Yes, let’s aid and abet the election of criminals so we can punish them later.

Besides, criminal-politicians are hardly more likely to support the Lokpal bill, party whip or not. (Not that there is any guarantee the BJP or other opposition parties will issue any such whip) And it certainly seems odd to remain silent about Bishnoi and Chautala, while Kejriwal and Sisodia campaign against Prakash with misleading slogans like “Congress ke haath, Bhrashtachaar ke saath (Congress’ palm — it’s election symbol — with corruption),” “Ab toh spasht hain, Congress party bhrasht hain (It’s clear now, Congress is corrupt).” Not quite, at least not in this case.

Besides, they could have chosen one of the other bye-elections that offer choice targets like the one in Khadakwasala in Anna’s home state, Maharashtra. Congress-supported Harshada, the wife of deceased Ramesh Wanjale, is the ultimate political fat cat with a notorious affection for gold. Even without Anna’s benediction, BJP leader Gopinath Munde has been eagerly invoking his name: “Anna has asked people not to vote for the Congress as it is corrupt. His men are whole-heatedly campaigning against the party in Hisar (Haryana). So you as voters have to listen to Anna and vote against the corrupt Congress-NCP alliance in this by-poll.”

But Khadakwasala does pose one tiny little problem: Harshada is expected to win. And that certainly won’t send the “right message.”

Three, wrong rhetoric. During the long summer of protest, Team Anna displayed its most impressive and lethal asset: message discipline. The tone was measured as was the language. And they were blessed with opponents suffering from an acute case of verbal diarrhoea. But this time around, they seem determined to match the likes of Digvijay Singh, word for ill-advised word.

For starters, Team Anna is no longer railing against the system but against one single political party.  Deny it as they may, the proof is in the pudding, as in quotes from Arvind Kejriwal like these: “We do not have ill will against the Congress. But if you Congresswallas do not pass the Jan Lokpal Bill, we will destroy the very foundation of the Congress in the country.”

Then there is the alarming shift to emotional blackmail in their speeches. The appeal is not to people’s outrage against corruption this time around, but their personal loyalty to Anna. “You will have to inflict a historic defeat on the Congress. If you defeat the party, this will be Anna’s victory,” Kejriwal told the gathering.  At the end of another meeting, he upped the ante further: “Each one of your votes will act as a life breath for Anna. This government wants Anna to die. You can save his life with every vote of yours.”

But the worst of the lot is this:

He (Anna) has told me that if the Congress doesn’t pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the winter session, he will go on another hunger strike. Anna’s life is in your hands. Each vote you cast against the Congress is like a breath for Anna-ji. I am not saying vote for the Bharatiya Janata Party either. There are 40 candidates, vote for any of them except the Congress. If you vote for the Congress, it will be desh-droh.

Elections are the life blood of a democracy. To use them as a tool of political opportunism is unwise and unseemly. But to label the free exercise of a citizen’s vote for the party of his/her choice as an act of treachery is unforgivable. And it is a clear sign of a movement that is losing its direction and its head.

Blessed with son, couple names him Anna

HISAR: On Sunday morning when Anna Hazare ended his hunger strike after 12 days, the Mittals here were blessed with a baby boy. As they had already decided Jitender and Rani Mittal, the parents, named their new born Anna Mittal. The couple pledged to fight corruption and not to pay even a single penny as bribe to anyone for any work.

"We had decided to name the child after Anna,'' Jitender Mittal, the father of the newborn who owns a newspaper agency here said.

His wife Rani said, "I feel proud to have named my son after a great saint of modern India. I shall pray to God to bless my Anna with the qualities that Anna Hazare has.''

Pawan Mittal, Jitender's father said, "We come from a business family who don't shy away from shortcuts. But we shall support Jitender and Rani in their pledge of fighting corruption. After all we don't want to do anything that brings disrespect to the name of Anna Hazare,'' said Pawan Mittal.

The Mittals though didn't give any tip to hospital staff, however distributed sweets in the hospital to celebrate Anna's victory and little 'Anna's' birth.