Anna to be invited for campaign against Modi govt

Vadodara: A BJP rebel in Gujarat is planning to invite anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare to launch a state-wide campaign against the Narendra Modi government.
Former BJP Minister Nalin Bhatt, who has quit the party, said, "we are planning to invite Hazare to Gujarat to launch a crusade against the rampant corruption in the state."
Bhatt also criticised Modi's planned Sadbhavna fast in the city on December 15.

Anna Hazare to be invited for campaign against Modi govt

VADODARA: A BJP rebel in Gujarat is planning to invite anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare to launch a state-wide campaign against the Narendra Modi government.

Former BJP Minister Nalin Bhatt, who has quit the party, said, "we are planning to invite Hazare to Gujarat to launch a crusade against the rampant corruption in the state."

Bhatt also criticised Modi's planned Sadbhavna fast in the city on December 15.

Digvijaya dig at Anna’s vow of silence

AICC general secretary Digvijaya Singh today questioned Anna Hazare’s vow of silence, wondering if its purpose was to avoid questions on the arrest of former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa and the controversial statement of team member Prashant Bhushan on Kashmir.

Singh targeted Anna for denying support given to him by the RSS, saying, “I do not understand why Anna is denying support from the RSS. He did not touch mention corruption of the BJP government. He praised Narendra Modi despite the fact that the appointment of Lokayukta in Gujarat has been pending for nine years. Even Nitin Gadkari was praised from his dais, and Govindacharya claimed a 20-lakh crowd to be of RSS. To top it all, Anna sending an eight-page political reply to my letter makes clear the kind of political support he has got.’’

Singh condemned the attack on Bhushan, but at the same time maintained that Bhushan’s statement was “wrong” because Kashmir is an integral part of India. “I am no legal expert but it is certainly a matter of probe whether this statement on Kashmir would amount to sedition,” Singh told reporters.

Regarding the Hisar Lok Sabha by-election, where Anna and his team had appealed to the people to vote against the Congress, Singh said, “We were never too hopeful about that seat. Even in 2009 we did not win it. Moreover, the sentiments of the public go with the late Bhajan Lal and his son, thus it would be wrong to associate the Hisar result with the Anna effect.”

Terming the Jan Chetna Yatra of L K Advani a failure, Singh said Advani wanted to cash in on the Anna effect but failed to do so. “Even we had not expected that he would gather such a low crowd,” he said.

Regarding Mayawati’s allegation that opposition parties in UP were anti-Dalit, Singh said, “We are not against installation of statues of Dalit icons. The Congress is opposing installation of statues of Mayawati and her family members with public funds. This is not acceptable and we will make this an issue.”

Singh and other senior leaders had a six-hour discussion with 135 party candidates in Lucknow, where they told the candidates not to be afraid of the “Anna factor” and take up the “corruption issue” against the Mayawati government in an aggressive manner. One of the candidates said, “It was almost like a class about dos and don’ts (for poll preparation) for us.”

Luicknow: Reacting to objections raised by Digvijaya Singh over installation of the statues of CM Mayawati and her family, the ruling BSP said Singh's allegations against the CM reflected (Singh's) anti-Dalit mentality. The BSP claimed that the statues were installed as per the wish of BSP founder Kanshiram in his written will. Kanshiram had wished that after his death, his statues be installed along with his political successor – Mayawati, a party release said.

Anna comes out in support of Sanjeev Bhatt

Ralegan Siddhi: Social crusader Anna Hazare on Tuesday came out in support of arrested Gujarat police officer Sanjeev Bhatt who has accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of complicity in the 2002 communal riots.

"What Narendra Modi has done is wrong. It is not good for democracy in the country," Hazare said, castigating the move to arrest Bhatt.

What was the need for the state government to interfere and arrest Bhatt when the Supreme Court was fully aware of the matter, Hazare asked at a press conference. He was referring to Bhatt's affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging that the 2002 riots took place with Modi's tacit approval.

Anna Hazare also announced his roadmap for his nationwide agitation for
 the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Hazare was responding to a question while addressing mediapersons on Tuesday morning to announce the roadmap for his nationwide agitation for the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Anna Hazare flays arrest of Gujarat top cop Sanjiv Bhatt

RALEGAN SIDDHI (MAHARASHTRA): Social crusader Anna Hazare Tuesday came out in support of arrested Gujarat police officer Sanjiv Bhatt who has accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of complicity in the 2002 communal riots.

"What Narendra Modi has done is wrong. It is not good for democracy in the country," Hazare said, castigating the move to arrest Bhatt.

What was the need for the state government to interfere and arrest Bhatt when the Supreme Court was fully aware of the matter, Hazare asked at a press conference here. He was referring to Bhatt's affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging that the 2002 riots took place with Modi's tacit approval.

RSS lending support to Anna's campaign?

New Delhi: The RSS has openly come out in support of Anna Hazare's campaign for Jan Lokpal bill. However, team Anna wants this movement to be completely free from any political colour and has disassociated itself with RSS.

But Anna's statement praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi few months back has really made the saffron outfit back the movement from the sidelines. Commenting on these speculations Anna said that first the government said BJP is backing our movement then US and finally they would say Pakistan.

In his second leg of the Jan Lokpal campaign, Anna and his team have been extra cautious to rub off any tinge of saffron from the protest this after Anna came in for criticism for sharing dais with RSS leaders when he was fasting at Jantar Mantar in April.

"People should emulate the two chief ministers, Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar," said Anna.
The RSS reiterated this stand on such anti-corrutption campaigns in which it claims its cadres have been actively participating.

RSS General Secretary Sunil Joshi said that they are not funding Anna’s movement.
But for Anna adversaries support from RSS has come handy as they accuse him of drawing support from right wing elements.

Congress Spokesperson Manish Tiwari said that the RSS is group of armchair fascist.

The RSS backing has at times made BJP's position a little difficult though it agrees with some issues raised by Anna like bringing the PM within the ambit of the Lokpal but there are some points of divergence as well. For the moment though, the main opposition party prefers to wait and watch and let government bear the brunt of team Anna's campaign.