Assembly supports Anna movement Ranchi:

RANCHI: Jharkhand assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Friday supporting the anti-corruption movement spearheaded by Anna Hazare.

Although the passing of the resolution did not figure on the list of business in the assembly, it was adopted unanimously when BJP MLA Raghuvar Das brought a proposal to the house.

After the resolution was passed, a letter saying "Hon'ble members (of the assembly) support hon'ble Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement" was faxed to the commissioner of Jharkhand Bhavan in New Delhi by speaker C P Singh with a request to hand over the letter to Hazare.

Later, the speaker sent a text message to Kiran Bedi informing her the assembly resolution.

Moving the resolution, Das said the entire nation was aware of the unrelenting Anna Hazare who had taken up crusade against corruption. "People in Ranchi along with the entire nation is pinning their hopes on to this septuagenarian activist and we must support his movement," he said. He clarified that the BJP had always been raising its voice against corruption and demanded a strong Lokpal bill.

Soon after Das's speech, the speaker announced to convey the sentiment of the legislators through a letter to Hazare.

The Congress MLAs were in a catch-22 situation and had no choice of going against the proposal.

However, the opposition was quick enough to attack the BJP-led government by raising the issue of not empowering lokayukta in the state as has been demanded by Hazare. K N Tirpahy of the Congress, Pradeep Yadav of the JVM (P) and Vinod Singh of the CPI(ML) pointed finger to chief minister Arjun Munda for not bringing the post in the ambit of lokayukta.

Munda immediately responded to the call clarifying the government's position. "Personally, I strongly feel that the chief minister's office must come under the lokayukta and our government has no problem in carrying out necessary legislative formalities to ensure that the post comes under its ambit," he said.