The Tribune – Anna embarks on ‘Jantantra Yatra’ in Amritsar; says it’s 2nd freedom struggle

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, March 31. Anti-corruption crusader and social activist Anna Hazare today embarked on “Jantantra Yatra” after paying homage to the martyrs at the Jallianwalla Bagh while dubbing it as the “second freedom struggle” and vowing that they will not let the sacrifices of martyrs go waste.

Anna set out on his one-and-a-half year campaign after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple and the Durgiana Mandir along with his group of supporters here this morning.

Addressing a gathering from atop a specially designed vehicle in front of the Jallianwalla Bagh, Anna said though the British have left, India continued to suffer from ills like corruption, hooliganism and lootings even today.

“The country may have got freedom, but it seems the Whites have been replaced by the Blacks”, he said adding they would follow the path of non-violence during the campaign while reiterating that they will neither contest nor support any party in the forthcoming General Elections.

Anna said they will sensitise people and seek their views on the issues confronting the country during their campaign from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. “I know a large number of people are in deep slumber, but we hope to wake them up and mobilise support for our campaign. I don’t know how many of the people will come forward, but we are optimistic that we will be able to garner the support of around six crore people over the next one-and-a-half years. If we succeed in our aim, the government will have to bow before the ‘Jan Shakti’ (people’s power) and frame laws and policies in the interest of the common man.”

He made a fervent appeal to the people to join the “Jantantra Yatra” which will support the candidates with clean image and proven track record in the next Lok Sabha elections. Dwelling on the current political scenario, Anna asked, “What future can the country have when 163 members in the Parliament have criminal past and 15 ministers of the Union government are tainted?”

He warned that those at the helm of affairs would have to bring in Jan Lokpal Bill and initiate electoral reforms like the ‘Right to Reject’ to stay in power or else the people will vote them out. Accompanied by former Army Chief General V K Singh, he proceeded towards Jalandhar in a cavalcade of six vehicles.

Earlier, reacting to Operation Bluestar after paying obeisance at the Golden Temple, Anna said only “ignorant people” could attack such a pious place which spreads the message of peace and communal harmony. He also stated that the culprits of 1984 anti-Sikh riots will be punished one day.

The SGPC presented him a ‘siropa’ (robe of honour) and a set of books. Anna was virtually in tears while paying tributes to the martyrs at the Jallianwalla Bagh.

Meanwhile, Punjab BJP president Kamal Sharma met Anna Hazare in the morning. State BJP vice-president Rajinder Mohan Singh Chhina said Sharma reached Amritsar when he came to know about Anna’s visit.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130401/main3.htm

The Tribune – With or without Anna Hazare, Team Kejriwal firm on offering political alternative

Ananya Panda, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 20. Team Kejriwal is firm on offering a political alternative even if it meant going without their mentor, Anna Hazare.

Members of the team met at Laxmi Nagar here today to chalk out their future course of action following Hazare’s move of yesterday. All of them admitted that after Anna’s withdrawal from the political plans, things were going to get tough over the coming days.

Now that the veteran social activist has dissociated himself from his erstwhile team members after a long-felt rift over entering the electoral area, sources said Anna would embark on a nationwide tour as part of his anti-corruption movement.

Last night, Anna Hazare reportedly met yoga guru Ramdev at Golf Links. The meeting is believed to have been also been attended by former Army Chief General V K Singh. No details of what transpired at the meeting are known so far.

Ramdev’s camp is expected to brief the media about the meeting tomorrow.

The closed-door meeting between Ramdev and Anna, who flew back to Maharashtra at 4 pm today, has given reasons to the Kejriwal and company to worry. Manish Sisodhia, Prashant Bhushan, Gopal Rai remained caught up in a day-long meeting where majority stressed the need to lay out a new strategy to reach out to the people through intensified door-to-door campaigns.

“This political movement has to run without Anna ji now. Hence, efforts have to be increased. Campaigning has to be done at individual level,” said Yogender Yadav.

Meanwhile, Kejriwal, once regarded as Anna’s closest aide, expressed shock over the split and said, “Anna’s decision was shocking, unbelievable, and unfortunate. His photograph and name are printed in our hearts. We will continue the work as per his ideals. Taking a political recourse is important as Jan Lokpal will not suffice. Everything is being sold out in the country; coal, shops, retail etc and all this calls for changing the system.”

Also, on the referendum that Anna had rubbished, he said, “It was Anna who had asked us to conduct a survey through SMS, the Internet and social media on whether to form a political party or not.”

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120921/main3.htm

The Hindu – Learning from Anna encounter, Congress blacks out Ramdev

News Analysis: Neither UPA nor NDA is keen on conceding political space to civil society groups

Smita Gupta

New Delhi, 14 August 2012. On Monday, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, by ignoring three ultimatums issued by Baba Ramdev, sent out the message that it was not going to engage with him: the government intended following the strategy it adopted with Team Anna, which ended its fast earlier this month, “responding” to the call of a bunch of high-profile sympathisers not to risk the lives of Anna Hazare and his followers. The Congress, party sources said, has learnt from the bitter lessons of last year, when every interaction with civil society groups only served to energise them.

On the other hand, with top leaders of three key National Democratic Alliance parties — the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Janata Dal (United) and the Shiromani Akali Dal — and representatives of two unattached parties, the Telugu Desam Party and the Biju Janata Dal, sharing the Ramdev platform on Monday, the yoga guru got some ballast for his movement against black money. Later, leading his followers in a march to Parliament, Ramdev ensured an honourable end to a fast that was not getting the response he had envisioned. The government, on its part, treated the matter as a law and order issue — and the police took the yoga teacher and his followers into preventive custody.

‘Mask is off’

Indeed, the Congress went on the offensive: Team Anna and Baba Ramdev are providing the facade behind which the BJP-led NDA is operating, the ruling Congress alleged, pointing to the presence of NDA leaders at the Ramlila Maidan, where he had been sitting on fast. Congress media chairperson Janardan Dwivedi, asked why his party had not responded to Ramdev’s call on black money, said: “Today, the masks have fallen and the real faces have been revealed.” The Congress leader also took a swipe at Team Anna: “Whose fight this is, is also becoming clear. Their other partners, who had announced the formation of a party, have said … that they will not contest in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh, but in Delhi. Whose face is this?” The BJP is in power in Gujarat and Himachal, while the Congress is ruling Delhi.

‘Only issued-based support’

In the NDA camp, its leaders said privately that their support was “issue-based,” and that while they were happy to back anything that would embarrass the UPA, they were not interested in a closer relationship. Curiously, while the UPA and the NDA — and, for that matter, other opposition parties — are squaring up to each other, and the UPA’s many constituents, including the Congress, admit that the anti-graft agitations has damaged it, neither of the two national alliances is keen on conceding political space to the civil society groups.

If the NDA leaders spoke from the Ramlila Maidan, leaders of the UPA’s supporting parties, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party, were more circumspect. The BSP’s Mayawati, while pressing the government to take steps to bring back black money stashed away abroad, made it clear she supported only those anti-corruption agitations “that were above party politics.” The SP’s Mulayam Singh, extending support for the issue, refused to comment on Ramdev’s description of the UPA as “a sinking ship,” while his party colleague, Ram Gopal Yadav, was scathing about the NDA: “People who don’t trust their cadres and feel that they can’t win elections without support of others only do such things. I will not go to any such stage.”

Meanwhile, though most Congressmen desisted from commenting on the presence of the former Army chief on Ramdev’s platform, Captain Praveen Davar, secretary of the party’s ex-servicemen’s department, issued a strong statement: “General V.K. Singh, by associating with a ‘Saffron Swami’ whose links with the RSS are well known, has rendered another disservice to the image of the Army … respected the world over not only for its matchless valour and professionalism, but also for its secular credentials.”

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3765912.ece

The Tribune – Congress Working Committee to discuss critical issues facing UPA

Ashok Tuteja, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, June 3. The Congress Working Committee (CWC) will hold a crucial meeting here tomorrow to discuss the current political situation and the challenges faced by the UPA government on the economic front.

The meeting of the highest policy-making body of the party will be presided over by Congress President Sonia Gandhi and attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, top Congress ministers, party chief ministers, Congress legislature party leaders and other senior leaders.

This is the first meeting of the CWC since the party’s dismal performance in the assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Goa earlier this year. The meeting is expected to discuss the party’s poor showing in the Assembly elections as also the report of the A K Antony panel on the electoral drubbing. Leaders from the poll-bound states like Karnataka, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh are likely to be asked to spell out their preparedness for the elections.

With the Presidential election scheduled to be held next month, senior party leaders say the issue might figure informally at the meeting. However, a final decision in the matter would only be taken by the Congress chief. The CWC may authorise her to hold consultations with UPA allies and also Opposition parties on the issue.

The CWC could also discuss the trouble being given to the UPA dispensation by the Trinamool Congress on almost every critical issue. The recent hike in petrol price has upset not only the Trinamool Congress but other allies as well. Even some senior Congress leaders have joined the chorus to demand that the hike be withdrawn.

The joint campaign by Baba Ramdev and Team Anna on the issue of corruption and their agitation in the capital today could also come up at the meeting. Congress leaders say the UPA government is committed to combating corruption but assert that they would not surrender to the dictates of any group on this score and go by the will of Parliament.

The meeting could see the passage of a resolution calling for effective steps to provide relief to common man grappling with the rise in prices of essential commodities.

The sharp fall in the rupee and the plummeting GDP growth rate have added to the woes of not only the UPA government but also the Congress leadership. The party is worried that the grim economic situation could affect its prospects in the upcoming assembly polls too.

The CWC is expected to indicate the party’s stand on the need for the government to push some big-ticket reforms to give a push to the economy. Recently Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had indicated that the time had come for the government to ‘bite the bullet’ on economic reforms.

The government was also said to be considering pushing for Foreign Direct Investment in retail even if some of its allies refuse to come on board.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120604/main1.htm

BBC News – India anti-corruption Lokpal bill tabled in parliament

Monday 21 May 2012. India’s controversial anti-corruption Lokpal bill has been re-introduced in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of parliament.

The bill, which empowers an independent ombudsman to prosecute politicians and civil servants, was passed by the Lok Sabha, the lower house, in December.

A heated debate in the Rajya Sabha then had seen hundreds of amendments put forward.

But the house had been adjourned amid chaos without a vote.

Leading anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare has been campaigning for a tough Lokpal bill and has called the government bill “useless”.

Mr Hazare’s main complaint is that the bill proposes keeping India’s top investigation agency, CBI, out of the purview of the ombudsman.

In other words, the nine-member Lokpal committee – which would include the ombudsman – would not have its own investigative agency, a major demand of anti-corruption activists like Mr Hazare and many opposition parties.

His 12-day fast in August received widespread support, with tens of thousands of people attending protests across the country.

He had started another hunger strike in December but called it off and threatened instead to launch a campaign of civil disobedience that would fill the country’s jails.

Mr Hazare and his supporters say that tougher measures are required in the bill if it is to prove effective at reducing the level of corruption.

The Indian government has been rocked by recent corruption scandals including an alleged telecoms bribery scam that may have cost the country $39bn (£23bn), suspected financial malpractice linked to the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games and accusation that homes for war widows were diverted to civil servants.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18141956

The Hindu – Centre, Team Anna head for showdown

Neena Vyas

New Delhi, 21 December 2011. With Team Anna getting ready with its agitation against the proposed Lokpal Bill, the atmosphere of confrontation between the team and the government is once again building up as it had when Anna Hazare sat on his fast on the Ramlila maidan even as Parliament debated the Sense of the House statement that helped end his fast.

This time though, with the Bill in place, along with two others which are part of its package to fight corruption, the government is not likely to be as defensive as it was then. After the Prime Minister cleared the note before the Cabinet approved the Bill on Tuesday, in a manner of speaking it will be a repeat of the August scenario: Anna Hazare is set to begin his new agitation on December 27 in Mumbai on the very day the Lok Sabha will be discussing the Bill before the crucial vote on it.

The Business Advisory Committee attached to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday gave its stamp of approval to the extension of the winter session to December 29 (after a short break) while the Lok Sabha BAC had taken a similar decision on Tuesday itself. This ended the uncertainty over the extension of the session for only a day to December 23.

Twists and turns

After many a twist and turn — it was first conveyed to the BJP that the Bill will be taken up for consideration on December 22 in the Lok Sabha and the next day in the Rajya Sabha, and the BJP agreed; then on Wednesday morning the government said it would be able to circulate the Bill only by Wednesday night and it could not be taken up for consideration the following day as a minimum time of 24 hours had to be given to MPs to read it; and finally it was decided to introduce the Bill on Thursday, and discuss it before the voting only on December 27.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2734608.ece

The Tribune – Lokpal Bill report tabled in House

Government asks Anna to put agitation plans on hold

Hazare to go on 1-day fast tomorrow  

Vibha Sharma, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, December 9. No Parliamentary document has perhaps generated so much public interest and speculation as the report on the contentious Lokpal Bill, which the department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice today submitted to the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.

Chairman Abhishek Singhvi claimed to have completed the complicated task assigned to the panel — examining the Bill and giving recommendations — with 100% agreement on 13 of the 24 issues it set out to scrutinise over two months ago.

But even before Singhvi could complete the formality of tabling the Bill came the criticism from the BJP. It accused Singhvi of unnecessarily binding simple issues in legal complexities, also wondering whether it was an attempt to make passage of the legislation difficult.

Team Anna also rejected the report, saying they would oppose “tooth and nail” the committee’s proposals on the ombudsman. Hazare will go on a one-day fast on Sunday in protest against the Standing Committee proposals.

Claiming that the committee recommendations, if implemented, would increase corruption, Anna Hazare said only Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appeared to be serious about Lokpal.

Describing Rahul Gandhi as the main roadblock to a strong Lokpal, he said: “Since Rahul Gandhi has spoken on the matter, we have doubts that he is pressuring them (committee members). Rahul doesn’t want to end corruption. If corruption ends, their powers will reduce,” Anna said.

Meanwhile, ahead of Anna Hazare’s proposed dharna on Sunday, the government advised Team Anna to wait for the passage of the Bill before going ahead with his agitation plans.

“They should all wait for a decision in Parliament. People can give their views and Parliament takes the decision,” Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said.

“It amuses and bemuses me that discussions will be held at Jantar Mantar,” Bansal added, saying that issues, if any, should be resolved in an atmosphere of peace and amity and not by vitiating it.

Submitted on International Anti-Corruption Day, the report recommends making the anti-corruption agency – the Lokpal - a Constitutional body. While Group A and B bureaucrats have been kept under the ambit of Lokpal, Group C officials are recommended to be placed under the CVC which would file a quarterly report. Team Anna had batted for the inclusion of the lower bureaucracy under Lokpal. This the government had initially opposed. But Congress members on the panel gave a dissent note demanding that the CVC be placed under Lokpal.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111210/main5.htm

The Hindu – “Gang of four” maligning Kiran Bedi: Anna

Amruta Byatnal

Pune, 25 October 2011. Accusing the “gang of four” of maligning the Jan Lokpal movement, social activist Anna Hazare on Monday said that to blame and humiliate seems to be the mantra of the few. He was reacting to the allegations levelled against Team Anna member Kiran Bedi for overcharging her travel bills.

“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 Ms. Kiran Bedi. Every member of ‘Team Anna’ had to face accusations and character assassination by the ‘gang of four,” said Mr. Hazare in his latest blog post.

If Ms. Bedi has done wrong then as she herself has already said, the government should take help of one of its own enquiry agencies and if found guilty “should take stringent actions against her,” Mr. Hazare said.

Mr. Hazare said that in the past too the “gang of four” from the government attempted to defame some of his team members. He, however, did not name the members of the “gang,” saying that they were the same people who opposed the Jan Lokpal Bill.

Stating that even the Bhushans had dared the government to take the legal path if there were allegations against them, Mr. Hazare said. “But these people are aware that their aim will not be fulfilled if they follow the legal path. The only way out was to spread division in ‘Team Anna’ thereby spreading misconceptions among people who will be dissuaded from participating in the movement.”

Mr. Hazare said that he would be writing to all his members asking them “not to react again and again on any or repeated allegations made by the ‘gang of four’ (and their agents from various fields). People are wise enough to understand what the truth is.”

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article2568514.ece 

The Asian Age – Don’t use harsh words: PM to LK

Sanjay Basak On Board Air India One

20 October 2011. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, while giving clear indications that the government was in sync with the public mood against corruption, sought to play down NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s attack on his government. At the same time, he asked senior BJP leader L.K. Advani not to use “harsh words” in politics.

Dr Singh also announced that a high-power team will be set up in a couple of days to look into the safeguards and apprehensions on the Koodankulam nuclear plant issue. The Prime Minister said Anna Hazare’s agitation has “served its purpose and the government is committed to come up with an effective Lokpal Bill”.

On the RTI controversy, the PM clarified that he has “never said that there should be any dilution”. He added: “All I had said was that we should reflect how to achieve in totality the purposes for which RTI has been set up. I have never said that we are going to change RTI.”

The PM indicated on the way back from Pretoria that resolving the Telangana crisis could “take time”. Claiming there had not been any “inaction” by the government on the issue, the Prime Minister said that “given the complications involved in settlement it will take some time”.

The Prime Minister said the government has been “engaged in wide-spread dialogue and discussions with all stake-holders” and that he hoped “to reach a win-win situation for all concerned through widespread dialogue and discussions”.

http://www.asianage.com/india/don-t-use-harsh-words-pm-lk-646

The Asian Age – Anna above Parliament, can pressurise it: Kejriwal

New Delhi, 9 October 2011. 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 told Karan Thapar in Devil’s Advocate programme in CNN-IBN.

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 by-elections, 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. (PTI)

http://www.asianage.com/india/anna-above-parliament-can-pressurise-it-kejriwal-667