The Asian Age – Cops: Politics, hooligans; RPN says 99% peaceful

Asian Age Correspondent

New Delhi, 24 December 2012. The peaceful protest in the national capital over the gangrape of a young woman turned violent on Sunday as hooligans and some political elements, while taking advantage of the facelessness of protesting people, entered the fray, the police said.

This resulted in destruction of public property and attacks on the police. In retaliation, the police said, it resorted to teargas and water cannon, leading to injuries to persons on both sides. Over 150 persons were injured, including 78 police officials of whom one was reported as being in critical condition. More than two dozen police and private vehicles were damaged, including a Doordarshan OB van.

Even a proactive initiative taken by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi, who met a group of protesting youth Sunday morning, failed to break the ice as political elements like Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia of Aam Admi Party (AAP) and yoga guru Baba Ramdev, along with former Army Chief General V K Singh, joined the protesters at different places in the national capital.

After the meeting between Mrs Gandhi and representatives of the protesting youth, minister of state for home affairs R P N Singh said, “The government has agreed to set up fast-track courts for speedy trial in the case and will ensure strictest punishment of the culprits.” He later apologised for the police crackdown, admitting that 99 per cent of the protesters were peaceful.

Expressing deep sorrow over the events leading to the protester-police clashes, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said late Sunday night, “Let us all pray for her (the victim) and her loved ones during this critical time. There is genuine and justified anger and anguish at this ghastly incident. We are constantly monitoring her medical condition. We are all joined in our concern for the young woman who was the victim of a heinous crime in Delhi.”

Meanwhile, hectic parleys continued to play out within the government with Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit first hold.

http://www.asianage.com/india/cops-politics-hooligans-rpn-says-99-peaceful-524

The Hindu – Kejriwal stages sit-in near Sheila Dikshit’s residence

New Delhi, 7 December 2012.  Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal and scores of people staged a sit-in near Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit’s residence on Friday morning to protest against demolition of buildings in a south Delhi locality and demanded that they be given an audience with her.

Over 100 people started gathering at Ms Dikshit’s Motilal Nehru Marg residence at 7 a.m. while Mr Kejriwal joined them an hour later to protest demolition of their houses in Shaheenbagh.

A large number of police personnel were deployed at the spot to avoid any untoward incident.

Police barricaded one side of road from Janpath side which has the entry gate to Ms Dikshit’s residence.

Protesters shouted slogans against the government action.

“The land where these people are living is their land, they have documents of it. But it’s unauthorised because you have to get the map passed by the government,” Mr Kejriwal said.

“But on October 4, 2010 Sonia Gandhi had announced that 1600 colonies will be regularised, this colony is also one of them. But despite that 500 houses were demolished,” he said.

He alleged showrooms nearby were not razed.

“We were asking for Dikshit’s time which was not given. We are not here for a clash with the government but a sit in protest,” he said. (PTI)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/kejriwal-stages-sitin-near-sheila-dikshits-residence/article4173646.ece?homepage=true

The Hindu – Drama at press meet as former IAC member confronts Kejriwal

Special Correspondent

New Delhi, 22 October 2012.  India Against Corruption activist Arvind Kejriwal was asked to clear the air about his ideology and approach by a lady and her supporters at his press conference in Ghaziabad on Sunday evening.

Mr. Kejriwal tried to wriggle out of her posers by claiming not to know her and saying her questions need not be answered.

Annie Kohli, who claimed to be from Mumbai and a former IAC activist, distributed pamphlets in which she asked Mr. Kejriwal to clarify whether he was following Mahatma Gandhi’s brand of politics or subscribed to the revolutionary ideology.

When Mr. Kejriwal came out of the conference venue to meet her, she seemed to berate him while the anti-corruption activist tried to mollify her by seeking to involve her in the movement.

“You are using this as a ladder for your politics. Revolutionaries never ran away from sufferings. But for you, when the time came, you ran away. You were on protest with disabled people on Salman Khurshid case. First you said, you will sit there till you get results. But after four days, you left the place saying you will go to Farukkhabad instead. You have support in Delhi. You want to become a leader,’’ she said.

Mr. Kejriwal invited her to take his place in Delhi while he agitated in Farukkhabad.

But Ms. Kohli turned down the offer, saying she is from Mumbai.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/drama-at-press-meet-as-former-iac-member-confronts-kejriwal/article4019860.ece

The Tribune – Digvijay shoots off 27 posers to Kejriwal; Congress leader questions off-shore funding for his NGO

Anita Katyal, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 20. While a rattled Congress has been constrained from launching an all-out offensive against activist-politician Arvind Kejriwal after his revelations on the business dealings of party president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra, the party has instead unleashed its outspoken AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh to take on the self-styled anti-corruption crusader.

The senior Congress leader is being quietly encouraged to run this campaign as the party cannot officially indulge in a slanging match with Kejriwal and his associates.

Consequently, Digivijay Singh has upped the ante, as he tears into Arvind Kejriwal with renewed vigour, raising uncomfortable questions about the foreign funds he received for his NGO and how he used people such as Anna Hazare to further his political ambitions.

Digivijay shot off a letter to Kejriwal yesterday describing him as a “self-serving ambitious meglomaniac” following it up today by sending him a list of 27 questions. He asking Kejriwal to “first practice, then preach”.

Unnerved by the questions Kejriwal had raised about Robert Vadra’s business empire, a confused Congress did not know how to respond to the allegations. It first distanced itself from Vadra, then went onto defend him and again withdrew into a shell.

After it learnt a bitter lesson last year when it criticised Anna Hazare, the Congress offensive against Kejriwal has, at best, been lukewarm.

But there has been no let-up in Digivijay Singh’s attack. Having successfully set the agenda so far, he has managed to push Arvind Kejriwal on the defensive. This situation suits the Congress as it is constrained from launching a personalised battle against Arvind Kejriwal while the AICC general secretary is not weighed down by such considerations.

If things get too hot, the Congress can always distance itself from the party leader, saying he has been speaking in his personal capacity.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20121021/nation.htm#1

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 – Police detain Arvind Kejriwal, 5 others

New Delhi, August 26, 2012. Erstwhile Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal and five others on Sunday assembled in front of the residences of the Prime Minister and Congress and BJP party presidents for a protest on the coal block allocation issue but were detained.

All the six — Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Gopal Rai, Kumar Vishas, Sanjay Singh and another person — were later released from custody after being detained for about an hour at the Mandir Marg police station, where their supporters staged a protest and prevented police from taking them to Bawana.

Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Gopal were picked up from outside Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s residence while Mr. Sisodia and Mr. Vishwas were detained from outside 10 Janpath, the residence of the Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. Mr. Sanjay Singh and another person were detained from outside BJP chief Nitin Gadkari’s residence.

The activists had announced the gherao of the residences of these three leaders alleging that Congress and BJP were hand-in-glove in corruption and involved in the allocation of coal blocks.

Delhi Police had warned against staging a gherao at these places citing violation of prohibitory orders.

Though the activists had announced that they will gather at Jantar Mantar and march towards the residences of the leaders,  Mr. Kejriwal and his aides took others by surprise and came to the protest venues where they were detained.

“What wrong are we doing? We are just sitting quietly on the footpath. At least we should be told why we are being detained,” Mr. Kejriwal said. A spokesperson for the protesters said they did not violate prohibitory orders as only two persons had gathered at the spot.

“When Raj Thackeray takes thousands of his supporters without permission for a protest, police provide protection. What kind of politics is this?” he said. (PTI)

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/article3823843.ece

The Tribune – Don’t campaign for Akalis, Captain to Kejriwal

Rajmeet Singh, Tribune News Service

Mohali, November 13. PPCC president Capt Amarinder Singh today advised civil society activist Arvind Kejriwal to not to campaign for the Akalis while spearheading the anti-corruption campaign during the forthcoming assembly elections in Punjab.

Referring to the recently held Hisar elections, where the civil society held an aggressive anti-Congress campaign, the PPCC chief claimed that the campaign rather helped the HJC and the INLD. “If Kejriwal wants to come to Punjab, he should be aware of the Akali government from where four BJP ministers were removed for facing corruption charges,” the former CM said while addressing a rally as part of the Punjab Bachao Yatra at the Dasehra Ground here.

“I am warning the Akali leadership to stop harassing Congress workers. If the police is not performing its duty, we have to take the law and order in our own hands and reply in the same fashion,” he said, while trying to strike a chord with party workers as ticket aspirants had ensured a heavy turnout and could be seen jostling to sit near the former CM.

Captain Amarinder also questioned BJP leader LK Advani’s moral authority to lead an anti-corruption yatra in Punjab where his party had “crossed all limits of corruption”. The Akali leadership had grabbed the sand mines, liquor trade, transport business and the cable operations, he alleged.

Thakur Gulchain Singh Charak, Punjab Congress in-charge, said if voted to power, the Congress would bring a strong Lokpal.

Minister of State for External Affairs Perneet Kaur claimed that the people of the state had already made up their mind to bring the Congress back to power.

Congress Legislative Party leader Rajinder Kaur Bhattal and senior leader and CWC member Jagmeet Singh Brar also spoke on the occasion.

Those present included Mohinder Singh Gill, Balbir Sidhu, Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, Lakhwinder Kaur Garcha, Deepinder Dhillon, Rajbir Singh Padiala and Jagmohan Singh Kang.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111114/punjab.htm#1

The Asian Age – Inflated travel bills issue: Bedi hits back at Kejriwal

New Delhi, 12 November 2011.

The Asian Age – Hitting out at Arvind Kejriwal for his remarks over the inflated travel bills issue involving her, Kiran Bedi today said he would not have made such a comment if he had comprehended the issue fully.

“The only problem is that he didn’t understand the issue fully… If he had more understanding of the issue, then his answer would have been different,” Bedi said Kejriwal had disapproved of his Team Anna colleague overcharging her hosts by inflating travel bills, saying she was wrong in doing so.

Asked about the controversy over Bedi’s flying economy class and charging her host-organisers for business class tickets, Kejriwal had said that “she should not have done it. She has said it will not happen again.

I would not have done what Kiran Bedi did”. However, yesterday Bedi had posted on Twitter that “Arvind has informed me that it’s a spin for a purpose.” (PTI)

http://www.asianage.com/india/inflated-travel-bills-issue-bedi-hits-back-kejriwal-755

The Asian Age – Crucial Team Anna meeting tomorrow

New Delhi, 28 October 2011. Key figures of Anna Hazare’s team will meet in Ghaziabad tomorrow sans the Gandhian, who is on a vow of silence, to discuss the crisis facing the team after they were enmeshed in a series of controversies.

Besides Hazare, prominent member Justice Santosh Hegde is also not attending the Core Committee meeting to be held at the office of Arvind Kejriwal-headed Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF) in Kaushambi in UP’s Ghaziabad.

The Core Committee meeting comes against the backdrop of a series of allegations against key members like Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi as well as resignation of two prominent activists Rajinder Singh and P V Rajagopal citing the political turn taken by Hazare’s anti-corruption movement.

The meeting also comes amidst a renewed attack on Hazare by Congress leader Digvijay Singh, who alleged that the Gandhian’s anti-corruption agitation as well as that of yoga guru Ramdev and Sri Sri Ravisankar were part of an over-all plan of RSS-BJP to divert attention from right-wing terror. Team Anna has been on the backfoot with Bedi battling charges of overcharging her hosts by inflating travel bills and Kejriwal being accused of depositing donations collected for Hazare agitation against corruption in PCRF as well as its anti-Congress campaign in Hisar bypolls.

Lawyer Prashant Bhushan, another member, also triggered a controversy by advocating plebiscite in Kashmir, evoking strong opposition from Hazare and other team members. Hazare’s decision yesterday to continue his ‘maun vrat’, which he started on October 16, will mean that he will not attend the Core Committee meeting when his team members were facing attacks and questions of probity.

In a veiled attack on key Team Anna members, Hegde said, “Anna’s strength does not lies in core committee or the people’s honesty in the core committee”. However, he cited a prior commitment in Mumbai for not attending the meet.

Hegde said he was also keeping a watch on the controversy surrounding Kejriwal and Bedi and remarked: “It’s a nice churning and ‘manthan’ is going on…” Former member Rajinder Singh, meanwhile, continued his attack on Team Anna saying Hazare has deviated from his objective and his team is full of “arrogant people in which there is no room for good human beings”.

Describing Bedi and Kejriwal as the “most arrogant members” of Team Anna, Singh said being former bureaucrats they are in the habit of throwing their weight about and imposing themselves on others.

Sources in Team Anna said they will discuss all issues involving the team, including the continuance of Bhushan in the team. Hazare had earlier said the Core Committee will decide on the continuance of Bhushan in the team following his advocacy of plebiscite in Kashmir. The issue came to fore after the lawyer was attacked by right-wing activists in his office.

Interestingly, the Core Committee meeting is being held in Kejriwal’s office while last time, the meeting which took place days after the attack on Bhushan, was held at his Noida residence and was chaired by his father and former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan. The issue also resulted in a flip flop by Hazare who changed his stand on Bhushan at least thrice. Initially, he said the committee will decide on Bhushan’s continuance, only to retract in few hours blaming media.

However, he removed the blog posting supporting Bhushan soon and later gave a TV interview only to reiterate his aversion to Bhushan’s views on Kashmir. He followed it up with a blog posting which discussed his views on Kashmir. (PTI)

http://www.asianage.com/india/crucial-team-anna-meeting-tomorrow-984

The Tribune – Setback for Team Anna as two key members quit

PV Rajagopal and “Waterman” Rajinder Singh object to “noble anti-corruption cause” turning into a “political” venture

Vibha Sharma, Tribune News Service

New Delhi, October 18. A day after Team Anna claimed victory in the wake of Hisar bypoll and warned Congress to be prepared for more such setbacks in the poll-bound Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the group today received a major setback with two prominent members – PV Rajagopal and “Waterman” Rajinder Singh – leaving the Anna Hazare-led movement, objecting to the way a “noble anti-corruption cause” was turning into a “political” venture.

“I have decided to dissociate myself from the Team…it is turning political. I did not join the group for such petty causes,” Singh told The Tribune, openly accusing the social activist of falling prey to his and others’ “political ambitions” and “sacrificing a noble social cause for personal gains”.

“The way they campaigned in Hisar for petty political gain grossly undermined the sanctity of the movement, especially among the youth,” Singh said.

In response to whether he was leaving the group because others, like Arvind Kejriwal, had gained more prominence, the Magsaysay award winner said he had never worked for any fame or gains so there was no reason to feel isolated.

“I have known Anna for the past 30 years and as far as I know he too never had any such ambitions. But he now seems to be changing. What happened in the past few days is wrong. I am not in favour of party politics. Every movement is political in nature but not in this way and I don’t want to be a member of a team which is involved in party politics,” he said.

It is not only the political posture of Hazare and a part of Team Anna that seems to have upset his associates. Senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan’s continuance in the Team even after his controversial remarks calling for plebiscite in Kashmir Valley is another cause for widespread dissent in the group.

Even though Team Anna members said they had clarified and all was well with the group, the development is certainly a major blow to the group and music to the ears of Congress-led UPA government. The Team is trying to convince the duo not to leave the group.

It goes without saying that other members of the core committee tried to dismiss the event as “a natural part of dynamics of any big social movement”.

Core group member Devinder Sharma said leaving of the two members was a part of the “churning and cleansing process” taking place in the group. “We are in the process of cleansing. If they leave some new persons will join. We are in the process of expanding the core group from 25 to 30 members,” he said, dismissing the allegation that the decision to launch an anti-Congress campaign in Hisar was not taken by the core committee.

“He (Singh) hardly attended any meetings while Rajagopal is busy with his yatra,” Sharma said.

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20111019/main2.htm