Lokpal: endgame near despite Anna protest?

New Delhi: As the deadline of another agitation by Anna Hazare for a strong Lokpal Bill approaches, the UPA has decided to withdraw the old draft and introduce a new one in Parliament even though several smaller parties have accused the Government of trying to rush though the proposed anti-corruption legislation.
Anna has threatened to go on hunger strike from December 27 if Parliament fails to pass a strong Lokpal Bill, but there is no unanimity among the different parties on the proposed Bill.

The winter session of Parliament, which was scheduled to end on December 22, has been extended by three days from December 27 to discuss Lokpal Bill and other legislations.

The Lokpal bill is expected to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday and would be taken up for discussion when Parliament reconvenes on December 27 after a four-day Christmas break.

Even as UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi addressed Congress MPs and assured them that the government bend further to please Team Anna and the Opposition, the UPA withdrew the old bill and decided to introduce a new draft. The BJP has given its nod to this proposal.

She told her party colleagues that the Government won't go down without a fight on the Lokpal Bill and will ensure that it doesn't meet the same fate as the Women's Reservation Bill.

She also reiterated that the Government and the party were united on the issue and hit out at the Opposition in general and the BJP in particular for trying to derail the Lokpal Bill.

"The Lokpal Bill has been cleared by the Cabinet. The Opposition will have lots of things to say. They should accept suggestions of Government. Team Anna should also accept it. The Opposition cannot reconcile to the fact that they lost (the 2009 Lok Sabha elections). The party and Government support each other, there is no rift between the party and Government," said Sonia.

In another major development, several MPs cutting across party lines have come down heavily on both the Lokpal Bill cleared by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance Cabinet and anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad, Samajwadi Party Chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sitaram Yechury have questioned the UPA Government's intention while making it clear that Parliament will not rush through the anti-corruption legislation in a hurry to please Hazare and his associates.

Lalu questioned the need for rushing though the legislation and said that a Bill can be passed after following a due process of Parliament.

"No one can dictate terms to us. Parliament has to follow due process. It is an important legislation. MPs may want to move amendments. How can we rush through it?" questioned Lalu.

Mulayam Singh Yadav warned the government that the proposed legislation would give 'all powers' to the police.

"Lokpal will not be in your hands. It will go to the hands of police. Nothing can be done then against the police," he said and apparently referred to Anna Hazare as he asked whether all this could be done "under pressure of one man".

He said his party will oppose as much as it can. "These powers will go to the police, they will not respect us (MPs). Superintendents of Police and District

Magistrates will send us to jail," Yadav said.

Mayawati-led Bhaujan Samaj Party is also against rushing through the Bill while the Shiv Sena has opposed the concept of a Lokpal completely. The BJP and Biju Janata Dal have also opposed the Government version, but want an early passage of the Bill.

The BJP is yet to reveal its strategy but it has said that the party is ready for a discussion on the Bill any day. It is likely to raise objections on the procedure of the appointment of the Lokpal panel.

BJP leader Arun Jaitely said, "Primary reports on draft are matter of concern. It doesn't measure to our expectation. Selection of Lokpal and independence of CBI is a major concern."

However, Keeping up the heat, Team Anna on Wednesday attacked the government for keeping CBI out of Lokpal's ambit, saying it 'totally destroys' the anti-corruption mechanism in the country by not giving an investigating arm to the ombudsman.

"If the CBI is outside, then how will the Lokpal be strong? This system will save corrupt politicians. If CBI comes under Lokpal then (Home Minister) P Chidambaram will be in jail. You are saving corrupt politicians and say it is a strong Lokpal," Anna said.

"It is cheating people who will teach them a lesson," he said adding he will campaign against the UPA in Uttar Pradesh and other four states going to polls early next year.

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said the new bill will do "more harm than doing good" to the existing anti-graft machinery.

Another Team Anna member Justice Santosh Hegde said there was some "ego problem" with government in accepting certain suggestions in Jan Lokpal bill while Kiran Bedi claimed that the agency will remain under government control till immunity is given for past acts of corruption by political parties.

"The Lokpal Bill will not have even investigating powers. You will complain to Lokpal but it cannot investigate. What Lokpal is the government setting up? It means the government is cheating people," Kejriwal said.

Hegde said with CBI out of Lokpal's control, what it does will be like departmental enquiry. "This is certainly unacceptable," he said.

Bedi said on micro-blogging site Twitter, "The bill is not path breaking but breaking the path. Thank you Sonia G."

"It appears till a provision for immunity is guaranteed for past acts of corruption, political parties will ensure CBI remains in government control," she said, adding it was now 'Save CBI' campaign.

The government may find it difficult to pass the Lokpal Bill in the Parliament if the Opposition continue to oppose it. The government has a majority in Lok Sabha but the Opposition can push for amendments in Rajya Sabha.

Team Anna's awareness campaign with assembly in sight

NAGPUR: With the state legislature's winter session starting next week, Team Anna in Nagpur has decided to hold a series of events to highlight their cause. Starting Friday, the four-day long programme will focus on creating awareness about the Jan Lokpal Bill.

India Against Corruption's (IAC) Nagpur chapter has also decided to lend its support to the call given by various organizations for a separate Vidarbha state. City coordinator for IAC Ajay Sanghi said, "This decision was taken by Nagpur chapter after consultation with various stakeholders in Vidarbha. This is not something Anna Hazare has said or decided."

Central core committee members Mayank Gandhi and Shamoon Qasmi too will be in the city to deliver lectures on Jan Lokpal Bill at Tajbagh and Mominpura.

On Friday evening a car and bike rally will start from Congress Nagar and culminate at Tajbagh. There, Gandhi and Qasmi will speak on 'Jan Lokpal Andolan - A golden opportunity in national integration'.

Shakeel Patel, secretary of Khwaja Garib Nawab Foundation, which is organizing the Tajbagh function, said, "We wanted the core committee members to come and dispel doubts in our community. There were rumours that Anna Hazare is connected to the RSS. It was a ploy of the government to alienate minorities from this national movement. Hence, we invited Team Anna to come and address a gathering and put their stand before us."

A similar lecture will be held on Saturday at Mominpura. It is being organized by Urdu Editors Conference. From Sunday onwards, IAC Nagpur will hit the road again by organizing a sit-down protest at National Civil Defence College, near Hislop College, to support Anna's single day fast.

At 6pm, a candle march will start from the venue to Shankar Nagar and back.

IAC had planned a candle march on two more days, but the police have refused them permission to hold more marches. "The authorities have asked us to restrict our candle marches till December 12. We had planned to support various other issues, including a separate Vidarbha, during those days. Now, we will just join other organizations in their candle march on other days," Sanghi said.

BOX

ANNA BRIGADE

Dec 9 (4pm) - Car & bike rally from Sanghi Sadan, Congress Nagar

Dec 9 (8pm) - Lecture by Mayank Gandhi, Shamoon Qasmi and Ajay Sanghi at Tajbagh

Dec 10 (8pm) - Lecture by Mayank Gandhi, Shamoon Qasmi and Ajay Sanghi at Mominpura

Dec 11 (10am) - Protest at National Civil Defence College, near Hislop College

Dec 11 (6pm) - Candle march from National Civil Defence College to Shankar Nagar

Dec 12 (6pm) - Candle march from National Civil Defence College

Anna Hazare, Jan Lokpal Bill top FB status updates in 2011

NEW DELHI: Social activist Anna Hazare created a movement not only in the country but on Facebook also, as people discussed and debated the Jan Lokpal bill, making him the most talked about topic in 2011 on the social networking site.

The Facebook Memology 2011, which captured the top ten Facebook status trends during the year, ranked Anna Hazare and the Jan Lokpal Bill at the top as most mentioned in status updates.

"This year in India, Anna Hazare and Jan Lokpal bill was the most talked about topic which triggered a wide roar amongst all Indians against corruption. His fast led to a nationwide protests in India," Facebook said in a statement.

Social networking sites were used as an organising tool for protests during the Anna Hazare fast earlier this year.

Shahrukh Khan's much hyped film Ra.One followed Hazare in popularity, as people talked about the movie and the song Chammak Challo, sung by R&B superstar Akon.

Status updates about deaths and condolences for terrorist Osama bin Laden, ghazal singer Jagjit Singh and Steve Jobs were the next most common updates.

Facebook has more than 25 million users in India and 800 million users globally.

Other most discussed topics include cricketers Yuvraj Singh and M S Dhoni, Ranbir Kapoor-starrer Rockstar, the Indian National Congress as well as earthquakes in Sikkim (2011) and Gujarat (2001).

Globally, death of Laden was the most talked about status update, followed by Packers winning the Super Bowl, Casey Anthony found not guilty, actor Charlie Sheen, death of Steve Jobs, the Royal Wedding, the death of singer Amy Winehouse, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 video game, military operations begin in Libya and Hurricane Irene.

Anna Hazare, Jan Lokpal bill top status updates in 2011

CHENNAI: Communications minister Kapil Sibal may think content on social networking sites is offensive, but a new study shows that the users are politically engaged people who air views and share news online.

According to a report released by Facebook, Anna Hazare and the Jan Lokpal bill were mentioned the most in status updates in 2011 in India. But Sibal might just dislodge Hazare if he persists with the demand to pre-screen internet content. On Twitter, #IdiotKapilSibal was the trending topic on Tuesday.

The Facebook study shows that social media users in the country prefer to share and discuss political events rather than entertainment reports. "Today's social platforms are allowing people to do something about the things they believe in. The criticism that this is just a modern version of armchair activism, or re-tweet activism, is unfair," said Narendra Nag, general manager, 2020 Social, an online community management firm.

Social networking sites were used as an organizing tool for protests during the Anna Hazare fast in April. Facebook, with over 38 million Indian users-over 3% of the population-is credited with playing a significant role in the 'India Against Corruption' movement. Likewise, Twitter, MySpace and Blackberry Messenger have been key to political movements globally.

"We had the right policy and correct philosophy (Jan Lokpal bill), and the huge number of social media users helped the movement," said Anna Hazare's former blogger and political analyst Raju Parulekar. In future, such channels will play a bigger role in democratic countries like ours, he said.

Shah Rukh Khan's film 'Ra.One' and song 'Chammak Chalo' were the second most-shared topics on status updates followed by Osama bin Laden, Jagjit Singh and Steve Jobs.

Globally, Osama bin Laden's death topped the status trend among a total of 800 million users as of September.

A separate study by Pew Research in June said that Facebook users are politically more active than other social media users. This year, social media has played a key role in international politics. The sites have been used to spread mass anti-government protests in Syria, Libya, and other North African countries.

The London riots in August were planned using social media tools, especially Blackberry Messenger. Later, police cracked down on planned riots with the help of Research In Motion, the makers of Blackberry. In the UK, status messages about the riots were the second most popular, after the Royal Wedding.

"Willingness to express opinions and network with large numbers of people will continue to fuel reform movements and people will thoroughly participate in such events," said Kiruba Shankar, tech expert and CEO of Business Blogging, a social media consultant.

On the move to control the content on the internet, Parulekar said, "I am absolutely against any kind of censorship in media or social media." He said these tools are important for democracy and democratic referendum.

Social media users and analysts suspect that the government does not want another Anna Hazare-type movement, which was powered by social media. "My suspicion is that they want to protect the government, fearing mass movements like the ones in Syria, Libya or other Middle East countries," Shankar said. "The internet is the world's largest democracy and it should not be meddled with."

Team Anna holds 'referendum' in Sonia, Rahul constituencies

New Delhi:  In a renewed bid to project the Jan Lokpal Bill as a larger demand of the people, civil society activists led by anti-corruption campaigner Anna Hazare today presented a referendum conducted in various Lok Sabha constituencies across the country that showed that the majority of the electorate would vote out their MPs if the bill wasn't brought in the by the government.

The survey, held in 14 Lok Sabha constituencies, found an overwhelming 96.5 per cent of the people saying that they wouldn't re-elect their representatives if the latter did not support the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Standing Committee as well as in the Parliament.

In a significant message to the Congress, the activists - popularly known as Team Anna - said that an overwhelming majority of the the voters in the traditional Gandhi bastions of Rae Bareli and Amethi in Uttar Pradesh too batted for the Lokpal Bill.

"99% voters in Sonia Gandhi's Rae Bareli constituency believe that if she doesn't support Anna's Jan Lokpal Bill, then they will not elect her as their MP again", Team Anna member Manish Sisodia said at a press conference while announcing the results of the referendum.

The results of the referendum were much the same for the Congress President's son, Rahul Gandhi. 98% of the voters in Amethi, the Congress General Secretary's constituency, would not vote for him if the Bill wasn't passed, the referendum said.

But it wasn't just the Congress alone that found a mention in the referendum. Senior BJP leader Rajnath Singh, according to the results, would not find favour with 94.4% of the people in his constituency in Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh if he didn't back the bill. Similarly, 92% of the electorate wouldn't vote back Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav if he failed to support the Jan Lokpal Bill.

The referendum assumes significance in that it comes just ahead of the Winter session of the Parliament which will be keenly watched over whether the government makes good its promise on introducing the Lokpal Bill in the right earnest. The results of the survey are also crucial as several of the Lok Sabha constituencies surveyed - including the ones held by the Gandhis - are in UP, a state that is gearing up for polls early next year. With the Congress being handed out a severe drubbing in the recent by-poll in Hisar in Haryana after a high-voltage campaign against it by Anna and Co., the referendum would clearly not be taken lightly by the party.

The fresh referendum comes on the back of a similar exercise that was carried out by Team Anna in Union Minister Kapil Sibal's constituency Chandni Chowk in Delhi. The civil society activists had, at the time, doled out similar figures, thus demanding the introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill. Mr Sibal as well as the government had dismissed the results, instead, asking Mr Hazare and his team to contest elections to prove their case.

As Team Anna was announcing the results of the referendum, reports of a rift in the camp were also making headlines. Prominent activist Kiran Bedi today hit back at her comrade in the anti-graft campaign, Arvind Kejriwal, for having said that the former shouldn't have inflated her travel bills. The former top cop said that Mr Kejriwal didn't understand the issue.

The recent controversy over the inflated bills had dented Anna Hazare's campaign in a major way with allegations of corruption within his team. Ms Bedi was accused of flying Economy when organisers of the events that she attended provided her with Business Class tickets. She defended herself by saying that she was entitled to her choice while flying and had given away the balance amount to her NGO. She had later promised to return the balance amount to the organisers.

Anna Hazare slams Chavan, says fighting elections not enough

RALEGAN SIDDHI: Anna Hazare  has taken exception to Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan's remarks that his team should come out in the open on joining politics, asking him whether only those who fight elections can speak against corruption.

"Now it is being said that Anna should fight elections. Does it mean that if somebody is speaking against corruption, he has to fight elections? If so, then 120 crore people in the country should stand for elections and they can speak against corruption only after that," he said.

He said politicians have fought elections but nobody has done anything to put a brake on corruption. "In the past 62 years, you have not brought a law that can fight corruption," he said.

His remarks came as a response to Chavan's remarks that it was "amply clear" that Hazare's associates want to join politics and asked them to be open about it.

"If you want to take part in politics, you must join it; politics will be enriched. It is now amply clear that his associates want to join politics," Chavan said.

"A clear stance should be taken, whether to contest elections or to support (someone) in elections. But, there is no point in taking a negative stance, that if the (Jan Lokpal) bill is not passed, I will oppose ( Congress)," he said.

Anna to campaign against Congress if Lokpal bill not passed

Social activist Anna Hazare (centre) with his other team members (from left) Kiran Bedi, 

Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan during a media conference at 

Maharashtra Sadan, in New Delhi on Friday. Mr. Hazare said there was no need to bring 

separate bills on citizens charter as well as on whistle blowers

In a U—turn, Anna Hazare on Friday declared that he will campaign against Congress in five States where Assembly elections are due next year if the UPA government fails to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed in the Winter Session of Parliament.

“I will ask people what is the benefit of re—electing Congressmen. Let them say whatever they want...I will go and ask them not to vote for Congress (if the Bill is not passed),” Hazare told reporters shortly after breaking his 'vow of silence’ at Rajghat early in the morning.

The 74—year—old activist said he had earlier decided not to take the names of any party in the coming Assembly elections.

“Seeing that the government was taking the issue lightly and cutting the Jan Lokpal into several pieces making it weak”, he said, he decided to change his stand and campaign against Congress.

“We will go to the five poll—bound states after the Winter Session if the bill is not passed. During election time, I myself will tour these states and tell people the intentions of the government was not right,” he said.

UPA trying to "weaken" Lokpal

Mr. Hazare, who questioned the “intentions” of the government in getting the Bill passed, alleged that the UPA was trying to weaken the proposed law by “cutting it into several pieces” as he found fault with separate public grievances redressal and whistle—blowers bills.

But, he said, he will not campaign for BJP as there is no difference between the two.

He said the Centre should follow the Uttarakhand Lokayukta Bill but what he was seeing was just the opposite.

He said he would felicitate state Chief Minister B.C. Khanduri at a public function.

Mr. Hazare said if the Bill is not passed, he will fast for three days from the last day of Winter Session in Delhi and then will go for a nation—wide tour.

He reminded the Congress that its candidate lost his deposit in Hisar Lok Sabha bypolls due to his team’s campaign against it.

“We did not want to destabilise the government but wanted to send a strong message that till a strong Lokpal Bill is enacted, our agitation will continue,” he said.


Letter to PM

Asked about his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh threatening to relaunch his agitation if the Bill was not passed, he said it was not a “threat” but just a “reminder” to the government about the passage of Bill.

“It was not a threat. All his ministers are indulging in defaming us. I thought they might have forgotten about Lokpal Bill. It was a gentle reminder,” he said.

Accusing the government of trying to “weaken” the Jan Lokpal Bill, Mr. Hazare said that there was no need for bring separate bills on citizens charter as well as on whistle blowers.

“Government’s intention is doubtful...The government is trying to weaken the Jan Lokpal Bill by cutting it into pieces. All these provisions were there in the Jan Lokpal Bill,” he said.

Mr. Hazare said he has no problems in a separate Judicial Accountability Bill but what the government has offered is a “very weak one” which does not mention about corruption in judiciary.

“What is the need for separate laws when everything is being dealt with by Jan Lokpal Bill?” he asked.

Congress vs. BJP

Asked if he will campaign for or against BJP, he said, “I won’t campaign for BJP. There is no difference between BJP and Congress as one is a graduate in corruption while the other has a doctorate,” he said.

Asked about his plans if the government does not pass the bill in the Winter Session, Mr. Hazare said he will hold a one—day dharna in all states he goes and then continue the campaign.

Team Anna

On the allegations against Team Anna members like Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, he said people throw stones at trees which bear fruits. “Let government conduct an investigation. Why are they levelling allegations?” he said.

When asked about Congress leader Digvijay Singh’s allegations against, he said if he comments on him, then he will also have to go to hospital, a pun on his earlier reference that Mr. Singh should be referred to a mental hospital for his remarks against him.

Queried about Prashant Bhushan’s controversial comments on Kashmir, Mr. Hazare said, “that is over. You (media) always need masala.”

On restructuring of the core committee, Mr. Hazare said the committee will be reconstituted by giving representation to people from all religion, region, caste and creed and that people with integrity will be included in it.

He said this will be done after a Constitution is written for the anti—corruption movement.

On allegations against some of the Team Anna members, he said “there could be some drawback but that does not mean corruption.”

Mr. Hazare said his maun—vrat was not against any person or party but in the interest of his own health.

Now, anti-corruption Baba Ramdev's yatra in Punjab

BATHINDA: At a time when political season is heating up in Punjab and yatras are being undertaken by various political parties, yoga guru Ramdev too has pitched in with his own brand of Swabhiman yatra. Having started the Punjab visit on Wednesday evening from this politically volatile town, Ramdev will remain in the state for ten odd days and will raise the demand for bringing back black money stashed away in foreign banks.

Starting the first day of his proposed yatra on volatile note, Ramdev vehemently targeted the UPA government in general, and Ccongress in particular. Before starting a yoga shiver (camp), the baba said he was determined to force the UPA government to contain corruption and bring back the black money. Supporting the Jan Lokpal Bill, initiated by Anna Hazare, Ramdev said a strong public movement was needed for bringing in the bill.

"Though, Art of living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and social reformer Anna Hazare are working in their own spheres at present, the three of us are united in opposing corruption, and would soon share a common platform, as Congress is not serious to contain corruption and giving a go ahead to inflation, price rise", said Ramdev. Yoga guru said trillions are stashed in foreign banks as black money, but here in India majority of people are living under poverty line and UPA is doing nothing to reverse the trend. He said there is dire need to frame such economic policies which suit the common men.

Ramdev later visited the temporal seat of Sikhs at Takhat Damdama Sahib and paid obeisance. He also visited Laleana village and adopted it to make it drug-free and asked the villagers to go for organic farming.

Box- Aggressive China worries Baba

Taking strong note of China's advancement towards India by building up its military paraphernalia, Ramdev said it is threat for sovereignty of India and the country must give befitting reply to China's nefarious designs.

Anna reaches Delhi; may end vow of silence

New Delhi: Anna Hazare on Thursday night reached Delhi to attend a meeting of the Standing Committee on the issue of the Lokpal Bill on Friday, ahead of which he is expected to end his 'maun vrat' (vow of silence) observed for the past 19 days.

Hazare will go to Rajghat on Friday morning and after paying tributes to Mahatma Gandhi, he is expected to break his 'maun vrat', Team Anna sources said.

Hazare will go to Rajghat on Friday morning and after paying tributes to
 Mahatma, he is expected to break his silence.

Hazare, who had threatened to launch another hungerstrike if a strong Lokpal Bill is not passed in Parliament's Winter Session, left his village Ralegan Siddhi this afternoon and reached Delhi at 8:40 pm. He will stay at Maharashtra Sadan.

The 74-year-old activist, who is on 'maun vrat' since October 16, will attend the meeting of the Standing Committee on Lokpal Bill along with other team members on Friday, the third such meeting.

The Team had met the Committee this evening as also after Hazare undertook a 13-day fast in August demanding that the Jan Lokpal Bill be passed in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

Soon after the Lokpal Bill was referred to the Committee, Hazare and his associates had deposed before the panel saying it should ask the Government to withdraw the Lokpal Bill in its present form as it would "encourage corruption".

Anna is new kid on the blog, and he is loving it

A week ago, Anna Hazare went on yet another maun vrat — his 11th to date. Yet the septuagenarian activist has probably never been more vocal. For, every morning for the past three weeks, Hazare has taken to directly talking to all interested through www.annahazaresays.wordpress.com — his blog that was launched on September 29 and that he has apparently taken enthusiastically to.

The newest kid on the blog may not know how to type or operate a computer but Hazare, say his aides, “claps his hands” every time he is shown the updated blog and the responses it has received.

“Through this blog, in a matter of moments, my thoughts reach thousands of people around the globe,” Hazare told The Indian Express, in a written response. “I am also getting their reactions. I am happy that technology is helping like-minded people come together. Had Mahatma Gandhi been alive today, I am sure he would have used this technology to reach out to the masses.”

“Anna used to get very upset every time a statement by him appeared twisted, creating controversies. Now he feels his thoughts can reach people in his own language,” said Suresh Pathare, Hazare’s personal secretary.

In fact in the first post Hazare wrote, he said: “Many a times people (even those who are close to me) make statements that do not collaborate with my thinking. Henceforth, through the medium of Internet, I will personally make sure my thoughts and views reach the people.”

While daily updates are a must, there are now many instances of two posts a day. The topics he addresses range from his Army days and the Lokpal debate to controversies of the day such as Kashmir. A recent biographical post titled ‘End of a Revolutionary’ summed up his life while in another he paid a tribute to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

New to the world of computers, Hazare has entrusted the responsibility of maintaining the blog to Raju Parulekar, a journalist, and Vijay Kuvalekar, who happens to be state information commissioner. Milind Werlekar, a software professional, looks after the technical aspects. Parulekar is helped in running the blog by a group of 13.

Hazare writes his blog posts in Marathi and translates them into Hindi himself. For the English translation, the posts are sent to Parulekar.

The aides say the activist is “extremely particular” that whatever is posted is exactly the way he has written it. “You can’t change even a single word. He decides where to put comma and where to put a hyphen. He himself edits and re-edits everything before he gives it to be keyed in, after which he again checks it before signing it,” said Pathare.

He is shown the saved webpage on a laptop as his room does not have Internet access.

“Whenever I go and show him the blog and explain to him how it works, he smiles and claps his hands with amusement,” said Parulekar.

“When I checked last, the blog had got about 64 lakh hits. Anna’s last post got 10 lakh-plus hits. We are also getting people’s comments from across the world. Annaji said that we can’t put selective comments, either put all or none. So we are moderating the comments and will soon put them all on,” said Parulekar.

“In a couple of months, the blog would be shifted to its own website,” he added. “Then it will be available in two south Indian languages and Bangla along with French and German. The blog is getting considerable hits from these places.”

Anna Hazare : Real Diwali only after Lokpal bill is passed

Mumbai : Anna Hazare who is on a ‘maun vrat’ (vow of silence), thanked the people for their part in the battle for the Jan Lokpal bill. He led his village Ralegan Siddhi in lighting 10,000 diyas to herald the festival of lights but cautioned that the “real Diwali” would be when the Jan Lokpal bill is passed.

“Anna wrote that the real Diwali will be when the bill is passed,” Hazare’s associate Datta Awari said.

“We will celebrate Diwali in true sense on the day when Jan Lokpal Bill will be implemented. That Diwali will enlighten us from within and outside. This year, we are celebrating Diwali like every year but this time around let us try to celebrate ‘that’ Diwali,” Hazare said.

In a written message, the septuagenarian thanked the people for their part in the battle for the Jan Lokpal bill. He wrote that until Lokpal bill is passed the real Diwali would not be celebrated. He distributed sweets to students  and clothes to poor people in the village.

Hazare had blogged on Monday night, defending members of his team in the face of recent controversies including inflation of travel bills by Kiran Bedi. Even after Bedi decided to return the extra travel money claimed by her for attending various events, Hazare tried to put up a defence for her.

“To accuse and humiliate seems to be the mantra of the few. This is not the first time that such accusations have been levelled against Kiran Bedi. Every member of Team Anna had to face accusations and character assassination by the ‘gang of four.’ Who are these people? Those are the very same people who are not in favour of Jan Lokpal Bill,” he said.

Hazare hoped that people who are busy levelling accusations against his team would join him in celebrations when the bill is finally passed.

Manpreet seeks Team Anna support for ‘non-corrupt’ Third Front

Punjab polls PPP chief sees Anna factor crucial in Assembly elections, hopes Hazare camp does due diligence before backing any party

Taking a cue from Hisar bypoll where Team Anna gave its ‘defeat Congress’ poll cry, the People’s Party of Punjab has approached the Hazare camp to support the “non-corrupt” Third Front in Assembly elections scheduled for next year.

“Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption crusade will be an important factor in the 2012 elections. I have spoken to both Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sosodia to support us. They know about us. The final decision on whom to support lies with them. But I do hope they do so with due diligence after a background check on all the three—Akalis, Congress and the Third Front,” PPP president Manpreet Badal said.

Though Team Anna has announced that it will canvass in five poll-bound states against the Congress if the Central government fails to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed in the winter session of Parliament, it has made it clear that team’s policy is not to support a particular party.

“They may give a poll cry against the Congress directly on the Jan Lokpal Bill. But as part of its anti-graft crusade, they cannot ask people to vote for the ruling Akali Dal-BJP alliance which is involved in transport, sand and cable television scams. So, it is the PPP-led Third Front that will finally emerge as the non-corrupt alternative,” Badal said.

Uneasy over Team Hazare’s call in Hisar, Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh accused them of betraying their anti-graft agenda by indirectly supporting the corrupt.

“If Anna Hazare comes to Punjab during elections to support the Akali-BJP alliance, I hope before doing so, he verifies the credentials of the Akali and BJP leaders. Hazare’s very purpose will get defeated if he supports the Akali-BJP government, which is the most corrupt. After all, it is the question of Anna’s own credibility and that of his crusade against corruption,” he said.

However, senior Congress leaders admit that Anna’s poll cry against Congress could jeopardise the party’s hopes of coming to power in the state.

And that is one of the reasons why Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has welcomed Team Anna to campaign in Punjab against corruption during polls. Terming the Congress as most corrupt, he said his party was firm on Anna’s Jan Lokpal Bill and fully supports it.

Rift in Team Anna Hazare on Prashant Bhushan, members dimayed at flip-flop

RALEGAN SIDDHI/NEW DELHI: Notwithstanding Anna Hazare's clarification on the status of Prashant Bhushan in his anti-corruption struggle, serious differences appeared to have cropped up in Team Anna on some important issues facing his campaign.

Hazare's latest position that the Core Committee of his campaign will meet and decide whether Bhushan will continue in his team or not has surprised the other Team Anna members, sources said today.

In two days, Hazare has changed his stand on Bhushan, who is in the eye of the storm for his advocacy of plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, thrice, much to the dismay of some of his team members.

74-year-old Hazare had on Friday noon said that the continuance of Bhushan will be decided soon, only to retract following a meeting of Core Committee which met in New Delhi.

Though he did not attend the meeting, the members were in constant touch with him and Hazare issued a clarification in his blog, blaming "some negative forces" in media for spreading lies in his name.

However, the blog posting disappeared within hours, without giving any reasons.

Bhushan had kicked off a controversy through his advocacy of plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir. The issue came to fore after three youths attacked him in his office in New Delhi last week.

The real shocker for some of the key members came when Hazare told a TV channel last night, "I am against anybody who talks about dividing the country. I am very uncomfortable with what Bhushan has said. Our core committee will meet to decide on his continuing as a team member. After it meets. I will take a decision."

With this, Hazare went back to his original stand of distancing himself from Bhushan's remarks on Kashmir.

Hazare urges people to boycott elections

RALEGAN SIDDHI (MAHARASHTRA): Activist Anna Hazare said on Wednesday that he will urge people in the five poll-bound states not to cast their votes if the government does not pass the Jan Lokpal bill in the winter session of Parliament.

"I will be issuing an appeal to the people not to cast their vote for the forthcoming legislative assembly elections to be held in five states, along with Uttar Pradesh, if the government does not pass the Jan Lokpal bill in Parliament's winter session," Hazare posted on his blog.

He stated that 64 years have passed since India achieved freedom and that since then, the Congress has been in power for most of the time.

"After attaining independence, our country should have transformed into 'Surajya' (welfare state in true sense). Nothing of that sort happened," he said.

Hazare added that corruption has crossed all limits and not even 10 paise of the one rupee spent on development reach the common man.

He said it is necessary that parliament passes strict anti-corruption laws.

"Unfortunately, the ruling Congress party did not take any initiative. The present laws are not implemented effectively or they do not wish to do so. This became clear when Jan Lokpal bill was not passed earlier. That is the reason I resorted to protest and later fasting and now I am forced to take a stand on elections," he said.

Advani disagrees with Team Anna, says Parliament is supreme

A day before the Jan Chetna Yatra begins, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader L.K. Advani made two points: he did not rule himself out of the race to be declared the prime ministerial candidate and his party did not agree with the Anna Hazare team on several issues, including the recent assertion by team member Arvind Kejriwal that Anna was “above Parliament.”

“The party [BJP] will decide when elections come,” he said when asked whether he had ruled himself out as a prime ministerial candidate.

It seems that on several issues, including the Jan Lokpal Bill, Mr. Advani and his party were not on the same wavelength as the Anna team. The BJP, he said, had differed with Anna and his men on several key issues related to the Bill. For one, he did not think anyone had the right to challenge the parliamentary system.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said: “Parliament is the highest authority … I do not know in what context it was said Anna was above Parliament,” Mr. Advani.

“We [the BJP] had also differed with the Anna team on a bill that would send bureaucrats who delay work directly related to people. Our State governments have passed laws to give time-bound services to people and delays would attract fines. Later the Anna team agreed with us on this,” he said.

Mr. Advani said his ‘yatra' from the birthplace of Jayaprakash Narayan in Chhapra on October 11 to Delhi on November 20 would keep its focus on the twin issues of ‘clean politics' and `good governance” that he saw as keys to keeping India's democracy healthy. He pointed out that while Jayaprakash Narayan realised the importance of political parties and galvanised all the Opposition parties, the Anna team was shying away from engaging political parties.

On the demand for ‘right to recall' or ‘right to reject,' he said while there was need for electoral reforms to check criminalisation and the use of money power in politics, he was not sure whether in a big country like India the right to recall would work. “It is not so simple. No country of India's size has the right to recall.”

He hoped his ‘yatra' would create awareness and help build pressure on the government to bring out a white paper on black money after recent disclosures of certain names by Swiss banks to the government. The government should make public the names of Indians who held money in these banks and give the factual position. This money should be brought back to India and used to build national assets, he said while demanding a white paper on the subject.

He regarded the 2008 ‘cash-for-votes' incident as a turning point that marked the “ethical decline” of the United Progressive Alliance and endangered democracy itself. During the trust vote sought by the Manmohan Singh government in July 2008 after the withdrawal of support by the Left “there were 19 MPs who cross-voted. They were given bribes and were made to cross-vote [against their party whips].” And in connection with this incident “whistle-blowers had been put behind bars.”

Anna welcomes govt's move to release Lokpal tapes

New Delhi: Anna Hazare has welcomed the government's sudden change of heart in the face of an RTI query on making public the audio recordings of the Jan Lokpal Bill drafting committee meetings. Anna said this leads to greater transparency and that is something that would restore the people's faith in the government.

But sources say the disclosure of the committee proceedings will be selective and that nothing which would hamper the government's work in drafting the Lokpal Bill or which embarrasses the government will be disclosed.

After more than half a dozen meetings and a series of backroom talks, the government and Team Anna failed to arrive at a consensus on the Lokpal Bill, leading to the confrontation and Anna's fast at Ramlila Maidan. Nearly a month after Parliament finally resolved to enact an effective Lokpal, the real points of contentions between Team Anna and the government could now be out in the public domain with the government agreeing to make audio recordings of the Lokpal joint drafting committee public.

Sources say elements not impinging on the jurisdiction or working of the Parliamentary Standing Committee currently scrutinising the bill will be made available. Earlier the Department of Personnel and Training had sought opinion of the Law Ministry to make public the records of the closed door meetings between the five member Anna Hazare team with government nominees.

"Whatever is allowed and necessary under the RTI will be allowed," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said.

However, former Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde said, "My only problem is that if they edit it or if they do it in the manner not in the larger interest of the conversation that took place between the two groups, then it will create some controversy."

Anna Hazare and his team have already upped the ante by campaigning against the Congress in the Hisar by-polls and they are preparing to take the battle to other state elections if the bill is not passed in the winter session of Parliament.

Anna Hazare above Parliament, can pressurise it: Arvind Kejriwal

NEW DELHI: Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has said that Anna Hazare is above Parliament and he has the right to do so as a citizen.

"Of course, he is putting himself above (Parliament). Every citizen is above Parliament. Let me caution you, every citizen is above Parliament. The citizen has every right to tell the Parliament has not done the job.

"Citizens are more important than Parliament. It is in the Constitution. Anna Hazare and every citizen is supreme. I think the Constitution says so," Kejriwal said in a TV interview.

He was responding to questions how one can justify threats of fast to get a bill passed in Parliament and whether Hazare was putting himself above Parliament.

Kejriwal justified the decision to campaign against Congress in the Hisar byelections, saying it was the ruling party's duty to ensure the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill. He also said Hazare meant the whole UPA when he said he will campaign against Congress.

Attempting to blunt the criticism against the movement for taking an anti-Congress plank, he said that it may campaign against BJP in the Uttar Pradesh assembly polls if it does not fulfil its promise of supporting the Jan Lokpal Bill.

"If any party goes back from the promise, in the UP elections, we may go and campaign against BJP," he said when asked whether Team Anna would campaign against BJP in the UP assembly polls if it did not honour the letter of support given to them by party chief Nitin Gadkari.

Hazare has appealed to voters in Hisar not to vote for Congress and others who have not given letters assuring that it will support Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament.

When pointed out that senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley had said that his party did not subscribe to all the provisions of the bill, Kejriwal said, "right now I am taking it (Gadkari's letter) on face value. How can you now say that Jaitley is right or wrong or Gadkari is right or wrong...?"

"Whether a particular party will deliver (its promise) will be proved in Parliament. If the BJP does not deliver, the country will go to elections in some place or the other," he said.

Defending the decision to oppose Congress, he said it was the duty of the ruling party to get any bill passed in Parliament. "Congress is playing politics and trying to crush the movement," Kejriwal claimed.

Asked why Hazare was targeting Congress only, the Team Anna member said he wanted to clarify that the Gandhian meant UPA when he referred to Congress.

In a bid to justify not naming UPA partners, he said the allies have little stake in the five states which are going to poll in the near future.

Queried why it has not announced its intention to campaign against Samajwadi Party or BSP which has already made it clear that they have issues on Hazare's bill, he said these parties were not involved in getting the bill passed.

"It is the UPA which is involved in passing of the bill. So if the UPA does not pass the bill, Anna will campaign against the UPA," he said, adding that it was not the duty of the BSP or SP to get the bill passed in Parliament.

To a question whether an anti-Congress stand would help candidates who have no clean image, Kejriwal said Hazare was not there to issue "character certificates" to candidates and say that one particular person is good or bad.

Noting that he does not think the movement will lose credibility due to its anti-Congress stand, the activist said the feedback received on their decision to campaign against Congress was positive.

In Haryana ‘Lokpoll’, it’s Congress versus Anna

Social activist Anna Hazare with Arvind Kejriwal during a press conference in
 Ahmedabad. Team Anna on Saturday launched a blistering attack on the Cong
ahead of the October 13 Lok Sabha bypoll in Hisar, asking voters to inflict a
 “historic” defeat on the party for not bringing the Jan Lokpal Bill

With the advocates of the Jan Lokpal Bill determined to demonstrate their ability to teach the “arrogant” Congress a lesson at the polls, the launch of Team Anna's ‘vote against the Congress’ campaign here in Haryana on Saturday has injected some life into an otherwise dull and listless bye-election for the Hissar Lok Sabha constituency, set for October 13.

Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, two core members of anti-corruption social activist Anna Hazare's group, addressed meetings in the constituency to drive home a singe point agenda with electors: that the Congress candidate, Jai Parkash, does not deserve their vote as his party is not sincere about the creation of a strong Lokpal.

Mr. .Kejriwal said the Congress party was ``steeped in arrogance'' and ``must be taught a lesson by the people” in the by-poll. He hastened to add that Team Anna was not supporting any particular candidate in Hissar irrespective of their `credentials or reputation.'` “The people should exercise their franchise carefully while ensuring that not a single vote is polled in favour of the Congress”, he urged.

For the hapless Mr. Parkash -- who finished third in the 2009 General Election and was facing an uphill battle even before the activists arrived -- the message from Team Anna was simple: quit the Congress if you are against corruption.

Though rattled, Congress leaders say Anna's diktat vindicates their stand that some forces in the Opposition were behind the campaign of the social activist.

Undeterred by this charge, the Team Anna members said that if the Congress did not enact the `Jan Lokpal Bill' in the winter session of Parliament, their current appeal to vote against the party would be valid for all upcoming polls.

On the perception that Anna's appeal to vote against the Congress could be read as implicit support for the Haryana Jan Hit-BJP nominee Kuldeep Bishnoi or the Indian National Lok Dal candidate Ajay Singh Chautala -- against whom chargesheets have been filed in cases of corruption -- Mr. Kejriwal said voters should be given the right to reject candidates

Mr. Parkash won the Hissar seat in 2004 but was unseated by Bhajan Lal of the Haryana Jan Hit Congress while the INLD came second. The seat fell vacant after Bhajan Lal died in June this year.

Haryana Congress chief Phool Chand Mullana and party campaign in-charge Venod Sharma told The Hindu the Congress was committed to rooting out corruption and did not need any certificate from Team Anna. Venod Sharma, who was earlier a minister in the Haryana government, was forced to resign in 2006 after allegations that he helped bribe witnesses in the Jessica Lal murder case to protect his son, Manu Sharma.

In his campaign meetings here, Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda lashed out at Team Anna and said their ``irrelevant'' appeal would not have any impact on the voters as they were aware that the Congress regime had ushered in rapid development in the State.

Not a single RSS worker approached me: Hazare

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's statement that it was part of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement has snowballed into a controversy with the Gandhian dismissing the claim and the Congress saying Mr. Hazare's claim of being non-partisan had been falsified.

Mr. Hazare told reporters: “Not a single RSS worker met me or approached me. How are they saying this? I don't know.”

He was reacting to remarks RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had made at a Dussehra rally in Nagpur on Thursday that its volunteers “are already active in all movements against corruption without craving for their own position and credit.”

Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh said Mr. Bhagwat's Dussehra speech “vindicated” his conviction that “the campaigns of Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare have been planned, engineered and organised by the RSS.”

Taking a jibe at Mr. Hazare for his previous reactions to such remarks of his, Mr. Singh said: “Whenever I say that Anna's campaign was run by the RSS, he tells me that I should go to the mental asylum. Now after Mohan Bhagwat's assertions, I want to ask Anna do I still need to go to an asylum?”

The senior Congress leader said Mr. Hazare should now ‘sever' the RSS from his agitation since Mr. Bhagwat had already “admitted” it.

Similar views

At the All India Congress Committee briefing, party spokesperson Manish Tewari echoed similar views. “What is evident need not to be evidenced,” he said, when asked about Mr. Bhagwat's statements.

The Congress reaction comes on the heels of the Gandhian's announcement of his plans to campaign against the party in the Hissar Lok Sabha by-election.

Mr. Tewari, however, downplayed the issue saying that the Congress fought all elections with gusto and accepted the people's verdict with grace. “We will try our best to win the trust of the people,” he said.

Mr. Bhagwat lashed out at the government for attempting to crush the anti-corruption movement and condemned the reported police brutality on the supporters of Baba Ramdev at Ramlila Maidan in June.

Mr. Hazare on Friday asked people not to vote for the Congress saying it had failed to bring about the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Following through with the threat he had issued three days ago, Mr. Hazare issued the appeal to the electorate through a CD.

Anna’s new war cry: Defeat Congress

Making a direct attack on the Congress, Anna Hazare today said he will ask people to inflict a “comprehensive” defeat on the ruling party in the five election-bound states if the Centre fails to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament.

Addressing a press conference in his native village Ralegan Siddhi along with Arvind Kejriwal, Hazare also threatened another fast. “I will go on a hunger strike for four days, starting three days before the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh. It will be at Lucknow and only with the intention of appealing to voters in Uttar Pradesh to defeat the Congress.”

The tour of the five states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur — would begin between October 13 and 15. Team Anna members involved in planning this latest campaign have been asked to organise tours in Assembly segments from where the Congress won last time.

Terming Hazare’s remarks “unfortunate”, the Congress said the government was committed to setting up a strong and effective Lokpal and that he should not have any “pre-conceived notions”. “Anna on one hand is saying if Lokpal Bill is not passed in the Winter Session he will start a campaign against the Congress. But now he does not want to wait. It’s unfortunate,” Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said.

“Every citizen has got the constitutional right to oppose or favour anyone... But even then these statements from Anna Hazare are regretful,” he said.

Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi said Hazare should have faith in the “collective wisdom” of the nation, which is represented by Parliament, while Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said the government would bring the Jan Lokpal Bill in the Winter Session.

Hazare ruled out extending support to even any Congress candidate who has a clean image. “What is the advantage in electing a clean candidate if the party is not right? Is Manmohan Singh not clean? The problem is that he is remote-controlled,” he said.

Hazare said the onus was on the Congress to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed as it was in power at the Centre, and accused it of “deliberately” delaying the same. “The Congress is merely saying it but not tabling the Jan Lokpal Bill. If the Centre fails to get the Bill passed in the Winter Session, I will appeal to voters in Uttar Pradesh and other states going for Assembly polls to not vote for the Congress. I will tour these states....”

Urging Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to face a probe in the 2G spectrum scam, Hazare said: “It is agnipariksha for him. Why should one fear that? If he emerges clean, it would be good.”

Asked whether he would support any other party, Hazare said they would not tell voters who to elect. “Citizens should vote for a candidate with a clean image and the one who is honest.” Those who accuse him of being a BJP or RSS supporter should be sent to a “mental hospital”, he added. “There is not a single instance that shows I have any association with the BJP or RSS.”

He emphasised it was wrong on the part of the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat to arrest Sanjeev Bhatt after he had filed an affidavit in the 2002 riots.

Hazare may also visit Hisar, where India Against Corruption is testing election waters for the first time, urging voters to only back parties which support the Jan Lokpal Bill. The seat is headed for a Lok Sabha bypoll on October 13.

The activist said that while other parties, including BJP president Nitin Gadkari, had written to the IAC vowing support to the Jan Lokpal Bill, the Congress has ignored their appeal.

“I will wait two more days for a letter from the Congress... then the appeal would be made to Hisar voters to shun the Congress candidate,” Hazare said. “If I am not able to go to Hisar, then I will appeal through a video message.”

He emphasised that his opposition to the Congress was limited to the issue of the Jan Lokpal Bill, and that if the Bill was passed, he would still go ahead with his campaign, asking people to elect people with integrity.

Asked about the ‘Mahatma’ title bestowed on him by the gram sabha of Ralegan Siddhi, Hazare said: “These are sentiments expressed by villagers... I am not eligible for such a title.”