लोकपाल की तकदीर पर कैबिनेट की बैठक टली

नई दिल्ली: लोकपाल बिल का भविष्य आज तय नहीं हो पाएगा, क्योंकि स्टार न्यूज़ से सूत्रों से मिली जानकारी के मुताबिक शाम को कैबिनेट की बैठक में इस बिल पर चर्चा नहीं होगी.

सूत्रों का मुताबिक इस बिल का परिवर्तित ड्राफ्ट तैयार नहीं है और ऐसे में कल शाम या परसों सुबह इस बिल पर चर्चा के लिए कैबिनेट की बैठक बुलाई जा सकती है.

इस बिल में विवाद की सबसे बड़ी जड़ सीबीआई है और अब सवाल यह ही है कि कैबिनेट सीबीआई को लेकर क्या फैसला करती है. इस बीच अन्ना हजारे ने प्रधानमंत्री पर ही वादाखिलाफी का आरोप जड़ दिया है. अन्ना ने प्रधानमंत्री की नीयत पर सवाल खड़ा करते हुए कहा है कि सरकार इस बिल को लेकर टालमटोल का रवैया अपना रही है.

दूसरी ओर प्रधानमंत्री मनमोहन सिंह ने ये कहकर साफ कर दिया है कि कैबिनेट जब आज बैठेगी तो लोकपाल बिल के ड्राफ्ट पर बात तो ज़रूर होगी, लेकिन अभी भी ये सस्पेंस बना हुआ है कि आखिर अन्ना हजारे को मनाने के लिए मनमोहन सिंह कितना झुकेंगे और किन-किन मुद्दों पर झुकेंगे.

स्टार न्यूज को जानकार सूत्रों से मिली जानकारी के मुताबिक सरकार लोकपाल के दायरे में प्रधानमंत्री के पद को लाने पर राजी हो सकती है, लेकिन यह फैसला कुछ शर्तों के साथ होगा.

'बात बन सकती है'

टीम अन्ना के अहम सदस्य अरविंद केजरीवाल ने स्टार न्यूज़ के कार्यक्रम में संकेत दिए कि इस पर बात बन सकती है.

अन्ना को मनाने के लिए ग्रुप 'सी' के कर्मचारियों को लोकपाल के दायरे में लाया जाना भी तय लग रहा है.

लोकपाल में अनुसूचित जाति, जनजाति, ओबीसी, अल्पसंख्यक, महिलाओं को 50 फीसदी आरक्षण दिया जा सकता है. टीम अन्ना को भी आरक्षण देने पर एतराज़ नहीं है.

लोकपाल और सदस्यों के चयन का जिम्मा पीएम, लोकसभा स्पीकर, विपक्ष के नेता, चीफ जस्टिस या उनकी ओर से नियुक्त जज और राष्ट्रपति की ओर से नामाँकित कोई गणमान्य व्यक्ति के पैनल को सौंपा जा सकता है.

लोकपाल को हटाने के लिए कुछ प्रक्रिया अपनाई जा सकती है कि 100 सांसद राष्ट्रपति को शिकायत लिखकर दें, राष्ट्रपति सुप्रीम कोर्ट को याचिका बढ़ाएं और सुप्रीम कोर्ट का फैसला लोकपाल या सदस्य के खिलाफ हो तो उसे हटाया जा सकता है. साथ ही लोकपाल संसद के प्रति जवाबदेह होगा.

जन-शिकायतों के लिए जो बिल आना है उसमें लोकपाल को दूसरी संस्था बनाई जा सकती है जहां लोग अपील कर सकें. लोकपाल बिल से ही राज्यों में लोकायुक्तों की नियुक्ति की बात पहले ही मानी जा चुकी है.

सीबीआई का सवाल

सबसे बड़ा सवाल सीबीआई को लेकर फंसा हुआ है. सर्वदलीय बैठक में भी पार्टियों के बीच एक राय नहीं थी कि लोकपाल के तहत सीबीआई को लाया जाए या नहीं. सरकार सीबीआई लोकपाल को देना नहीं चाहती और टीम अन्ना का कहना है कि सीबीआई ही लोकपाल की आत्मा है.

टीम अन्ना की मांग है कि सीबीआई निदेशक की नियुक्ति की प्रक्रिया भी वही हो जो लोकपाल की होगी लेकिन सरकार ने मन बनाया है कि सीबीआई निदेशक की नियुक्ति प्रधानमंत्री, विपक्ष का नेता और लोकपाल का पैनल करे. अन्ना ने भी प्रधानमंत्री को चिट्टी लिखकर कहा है कि अगर सीबीआई नहीं तो किसी काम का नहीं होगा लोकपाल.

लोकपाल को लेकर अन्ना हजारे का रुख लगातार सख्त होता जा रहा है. कैबिनेट की बैठक से ठीक एक दिन पहले अन्ना हजारे ने सरकार को चेतावनी भी दे दी और अपनी मंशा भी जता दी है.

अन्ना ने शनिवार को प्रधानमंत्री को एक चिट्ठी भी लिखी है इस उलाहने के साथ कि आपने वादाखिलाफी की. अन्ना ने चिट्ठी लिखकर प्रधानमंत्री को बता दिया कि संसद में लोकपाल नहीं आया तो 27 दिसबंर से अनशन होकर रहेगा.

From corruption to tribal rights: 2011 appears to be the year of social activism in India

NEW DELHI: With Anna Hazare stealing much of the media limelight, social activists this year mounted a determined offensive over issues ranging from corruption and black money to tribal rights. 

While social activism has for long been an important part of the world's largest democracy, the trend got a boost from the anti-corruption movement of Hazare, who became the face of India's war on corruption. 

A former army driver, Hazare fasted in Delhi thrice this year, forcing the government to take steps to unveil an independent body with powers to investigate and prosecute corrupt officials. 

The 74-year-old from Maharashtra caught the imagination of millions. Thousands took to the streets in support, waving the tricolour and the now famous 'I am Anna' caps and T-shirts. 

Shadab Fayaz, a Delhi University student who has been participating in anti-graft protests in the capital, sees "a change India is witnessing for the founding of a better and more democratic India". 

"It has become easier for leaders like Hazare to seek support for any cause through social networking sites, internet forums and SMSes. We have seen a rise in the awareness among students," he said. "They are becoming participatory rather than silent spectators." 

Hazare apart, there were other movements in small towns and cities that marked the dawn of a new revolution in India. 

In July, social worker Nileema Mishra, who works in the field of micro-credit, was named one of the two winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the other being Harish Hande, founder of a solar power company that seeks to bring electricity to rural areas. 

The 39-year-old Mishra got major recognition for her work among poor villagers that led to 1,800 women's self-help groups in Jalgaon and other parts of Maharashtra. 

On June 4, yoga guru Baba Ramdev, taking a leaf out of Hazare's book, commenced an indefinite hunger strike in Delhi's Ramlila Maidan to protest against corruption and black money. 

Thousands of his followers trooped to the site. But in less than 24 hours, a police crackdown ended the demonstration before it gained greater momentum. Ramdev later went low profile but continues to speak against graft and the government. 

In Himachal Pradesh, Rattan Manjari, 59, took on patriarchal laws that bar tribal women from inheriting property in the hill state. 

She and her supporters daily visit a village in tribal areas to create awareness about her movement that has seen thousands rallying behind her for amendments to the customary laws. 

Down south, a 75-year-old activist in Tamil Nadu successfully led a legal battle that saw several commercial establishments in Chennai's busy T. Nagar area sealed by authorities for violating building norms. 

The activist, popularly known Traffic Ramaswamy, is a former mill worker and a self-appointed traffic policeman -- as much of his activism relates to regulating traffic in Chennai. 

Congress appeals for patience on Lokpal Bill

As Anna Hazare threatened to go ahead with his proposed fast, Congress on Saturday counselled patience on Lokpal Bill, saying the government would get the "very important" legislation passed in Parliament as "early as possible".
"Anna should have confidence in government. I feel this

matter is unnecessary," Congress spokesman Rashid Alvi said in the wake of the social activist writing a fresh letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
In the letter, Hazare said doubts have arisen over whether the Lokpal Bill will be passed by December 23 when Parliament session gets over and threatened to go ahead with his proposed fast and 'jail bharo' agitation.
Alvi said the government is trying its best to build a broad consensus on the measure not only within the UPA but also among all other parties.
Criticising the BJP which has supported Anna's deadline, Alvi said, "Hopefully this bill will be brought in the current session, but nobody should be in a hurry. It is a very important bill, One should have patience. Government will get it passed as early as possible."
In his letter, Hazare said in the last one year, the government has given a lot of assurances on Lokpal Bill but every time they have "betrayed" the countrymen.
"Despite your promises, if a strong, independent and effective bill is not passed in the session, I will be forced to sit on a fast from December 27. 'Jail bharo' agitation will start from December 30," Hazare wrote.

Anna to watch Lokpal proceedings from viewers' gallery in Parliament Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/anna-to-watch-lokpal-proceedings-from-viewers-gallery-in-parliament-158675&cp

New Delhi\Bangalore: Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare will be present in the viewers' gallery of the Parliament when the Lokpal Bill would be tabled and discussed.

"Anna will be present in the visitors' gallery when government tables the Lokpal Bill in Parliament," Mr Hazare's close aide Suresh Pathare said. His close associates, also popularly known as Team Anna, will also accompany him to Parliament House complex on the day the bill is tabled.

The Centre is planning to introduce the bill next week, before the ongoing session ends on December 22. Mr Hazare has warned of a fresh fast from December 27 if a strong Lokpal Bill is not passed. He is particularly upset after some of his key demands were not incorporated in a draft prepared by the Parliament's Standing Committee, which was tasked to study the bill that would enable the formation of the Lokpal, an ombudsman that would look into cases of corruption among public servants.

The 74-year-old Gandhian has also written yet another letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, accusing the government of betrayal in bringing a tough Lokpal Bill. (Read)

The government, meanwhile, has gone on an overdrive to ensure a smooth passage of the bill when it is introduced in Parliament. Towards that end, the Prime Minister convened an all-party meeting on Wednesday where he assured all of the government's commitment to bringing a strong and effective Lokpal in the current session of Parliament. (Read) The meeting came on the back of a broad consensus among political parties over bringing the PM and lakhs of junior bureaucrats under the ambit of the Lokpal. These proposals, among a few, are crucial to the formation of the Lokpal, Anna and his associates have said. But the government is still holding back on committing to putting the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) under the Lokpal's jurisdiction. It will most likely suggest that the CBI's investigative autonomy be preserved. So the agency will report to the Lokpal only on the cases assigned to it by the ombudsman. (Read: At all-party meet on Lokpal, no consensus on inclusion of CBI) But this is not acceptable to Mr Hazare who has alleged that the Centre is not willing to let go of control over the premier investigating agency. This is something that found mention in his letter to the PM today where he said that the "Lokpal is toothless without the CBI."

Hazare writes to PM again

New Delhi: In a yet another warning to the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, social activist Anna Hazare in a letter addressed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday has re-iterated his decision to go on an indefinite fast beginning 27 December. Hazare has demanded that the Lokpal Bill gets passed in the winter session of the Parliament. The current session is scheduled to end on Thursday.

Social activist Anna Hazare. Photo: AP

“If according to your promise, a strong, independent and effective Lokpal Bill does not get passed in the winter session of the Parliament, I will be compelled to go on an idnefinite fast from 27 December,” Hazare wrote in the letter to Singh. “However, I have full faith that you will fulfill your promises and not disappoint the nation this time.”
In the letter, Hazare has enlisted a seven points on which the government has “cheated the people of the country” in the past one year. It includes the government favouring its own versio of the Lokpal Bill following a the deliberations of a joint drafting committee, presenting a “weak” Bill in the monsoon session of the Parliament and about Hazare’s arrest during his agitation in August.
“There are a lot of shortcomings in the report prepared in the standing committee (on Lokpal),” Hazare wrote. A standing committee report tabled in the Parliament on 9 December rejected most of Hazare’s recommendation including bringing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and government’s Group C employees under the Lokpal.
The veteran activist, along with an indefinite fast, has called for a “jail-bharo” (fill the jails) agitation. Earlier in this year, the anti-graft activist from Maharashtra, has gone on two “indefinite” fasts in the month of April and August in New Delhi. However, the venue for his December fast could be Mumbai instead of New Delhi if the “climate was not good”, Hazare had told reporters on Thursday.
Suresh Pathare, Hazare’s close associate, on Saturday wrote on the social networking site, Twitter, that Hazare would be present in the visitor’s gallery of the Parliament when the government will table the Lokpal Bill.

Anna Hazare's effect not lost in the margin

The Congress finished a poor third and forfeited its deposit in the Hisar Lok Sabha by-election, results for which declared on Monday. Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) candidate and Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi was the victor.
Bishnoi scraped through with a narrow margin of 6,323 votes over his main rival Ajay Chautala of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). Bishnoi polled 3,55,941 votes while Chauthala got 3,49,618 votes. Bishnoi’s father, late Bhajan Lal, had won the Hisar seat in 2009 by a margin of 6,983 votes.
Congress’ Jai Parkash polled 1,49,785 votes, which is much reduced from the 2,04,539 he got in 2009 and when too he had trailed third. The party had nearly 54,000 votes less this time round, while the change in margin of the winner was about 660 votes.
Team Anna was happy that the Congress had lost but it tried to distance itself from the victory of Bishnoi, who said his victory was not because of the Anna-factor. “This was not our seat. It was held by Bhajan Lal who passed away recently, and there is nothing surprising about his son retaining it. This does happen in Indian politics,” said Congress spokesperson Renuka Chaudhary.
She asserted that the defeat was not a verdict on Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. “One by-election does not mean any such thing. The Congress has been in power for some time, so it does lead to some fatigue, but then as chief minister he still has some battery left,” she said, adding that chief minister’s do not come with an expiry date.
On Team Anna taking credit for this outcome, Chaudhary said that the right thing would have been if Arvind Kejriwal was fielded.l
He is the local man and that would have been the right thing to do, if they wanted to claim any credit,” Chaudhary said.
Speaking to DNA, Congress general secretary and party in-charge in Haryana BK Hari Prasad said that the verdict was on expected lines. “Congress lost Hisar even during the Sonia Gandhi wave in 2009. Kuldeep Bishnoi won on the sympathy vote for his late father, Bhajan Lal,” he said, denying that the Anna Team had any contribution to make in the Congress defeat. “They are shining on borrowed feathers.”
But Team Anna had its own take. “Congress doesn’t understand the language of fast. It only understands the language of votes.
Hisar elections were a sort of referendum for the Jan Lokpal Bill. The results have given clear indications to the Congress about what people want. They should learn from it,” said Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal. “We are not against any party. If the Congress passes a strict Lokpal Bill in the upcoming winter session, we will end our protest against it. We are protesting and asked people to vote against the Congress as that will put pressure on it to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill.”
Kejriwal cleared the air on why Anna decided not to go ahead with his UP tour. “We are not anti-Congress. Annaji would have come to this UP tour but he has given time to the government till the winter session. The prime minister has written a letter to him and we respect that. He has asked people to keep a watch on Parliament until the bill is passed,” Kejriwal said. He, however, warned the Congress that if it didn’t pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the winter session, Team Anna would ask people to vote against Congress in UP assembly elections

Will work with Congress if Lokpal Bill is passed: Anna Hazare

RALEGAN SIDDHI: After campaigning against it in the Hisar Lok Sabha by election, Anna Hazare today said he will work with Congress across the country if the UPA government brings a strong Lokpal Bill in the Winter session of Parliament and keeps its words on other reforms.
But he also sent out a warning to the Congress that if the Lokpal Bill was not passed in the Winter session he will work against Congress in the coming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and four other states like in Hisar.
In an interview to 'Aaj Tak' before going on 'Maun Vrat', the Gandhian said after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's latest letter to him he was encouraged that the government would bring a strong Lokpal, the channel said in a release.

"If the government brings a strong Lokpal and keeps its other promises, why should I oppose the Congress. In fact we will work with the Congress," he said referring to the Lokpal Bill and to electoral reforms including right to reject, decentralisation and more powers to gram sabhas.
Seeking to dispel the notion that Team Anna is anti-Congress, he denied that Team Anna had against Congress in Hisar at the behest of BJP and RSS.
"I have only seen him (RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat) on TV, I have never met him or spoken to him. These are all allegations. In politics political parties are ready to do anything. The Congress, BJP and RSS are together conspiring to defame Anna. I have nothing to do with the RSS or BJP," Hazare said.
Hazare denied that that he had received a letter from the RSS. "I don't even recognise Ram Madhav," he said when asked why the RSS leader was allowed on stage during the Jantar Mantar agitation.
He said he had never thanked BJP President Nitin Gadkari for the BJP'S support. "If someone else from my team did, I can't say."
In a rebuff to Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan, Hazare said he completely disassociated himself with his remarks on Kashmir.
"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."
Hazare also said Arvind Kejriwal was wrong in saying that Anna Hazare is above Parliament. "Arvind Kejriwal has not told me what he has said. But if he did say Anna is above Parliament, it's wrong. People are above Parliament, not Anna."
He said he would tell his colleagues not to exceed their brief and speak on each and every issue.
Hazare laughed off Congress leader Digvijay Singh's claim that he was being set up as a Presidential candidate in 2012.
"I neither have the aptitude nor the desire to become President. In any case, if I become President I won't be able to do what I have been doing for society now."
He said the Congress and BJP were shooting in the dark by spreading such rumours.

A welcome respite

Politics, essentially, is the art of negotiation. By deciding to halt the anti-Congress campaign till Parliament's winter session, Anna Hazare has demonstrated a political maturity that's essential to democratic policymaking. He has assured the Congress that he will not campaign in UP elections and will instead wait for the government to bring a Lokpal Bill in the forthcoming Parliament session. There is much merit in the prime minister writing to Anna - promising a strong Lokpal Bill but also broaching the subject of anti-corruption reforms in other sectors - in a letter that's serious in tone and intent. And Rahul Gandhi has invited a delegation from Ralegan Siddhi, Anna's village, to discuss development work as well as the controversial Jan Lokpal Bill.

These welcome shifts have come in the wake of a continued war of words, with the ruling Congress and Team Anna levelling sordid accusations at each other. Now both sides need to rein in their tempers and have productive negotiations sans acrimony for drafting a strong Lokpal Bill. Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh, in particular, needs to desist from throwing endless jibes at Anna. Team Anna members, too, must exercise restraint. All parties concerned need to remember that Anna's anti-graft movement, transformed into a pan-Indian phenomenon, has raised people's aspirations for corruption-free governance and systemic reforms.
Corruption will undoubtedly rank as a major poll issue in next year's assembly elections to states like UP, Gujarat and Punjab. Mention may be made in this context of the Congress's defeat in the just-concluded Hisar by-polls, even without making too much of the Anna effect. Team Anna had actively campaigned against the Congress - but the latter's candidate in any case was never in a winning position. The important issue here is that the Anna movement has rendered graft an integral part of political and governance discourse.
Amid the heightened public mood for systemic reform, all stakeholders need to concentrate on the Lokpal Bill. Culling out the most effective measures from the various versions of the anti-graft legislations will be their first task. While the UPA's Lokpal Bill is essentially ineffective, Anna's Jan Lokpal too suffers from serious flaws. Civil society worker Aruna Roy's anti-graft recommendations strike a middle path between the two. Putting together an effective legislation from this range of measures, tackling big-ticket corruption as well as routine grievances, require threadbare discussions. Both the Congress and Team Anna must live up to people's expectations by beginning this debate.

Anna Hazare stir is Brahminical: Swami Agnivesh

Anna Hazare stir is Brahminical: Swami Agnivesh
NEW DELHI: Swami Agnivesh, who was sidelined by Team Anna because of their suspicion that he was a "government mole", hit out on Saturday at his former comrades, accusing them of promoting a cult around Anna Hazare and behaving like Brahmanvadis.
"Everyone was wearing 'I am Anna' written cap...what was that...it was an attempt to build a cult...They should not have tried to do this...This was Brahmanvad," Agnivesh said.
Agnivesh also criticized and demanded apology from another Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal for his remark that Anna is above Parliament. "Those who have said that their leader is above Parliament must apologize," he said.
Though the Arya Samaj leader took no name, the remark highlighted the bitterness between him and Team Anna.
Once a visible figure in Team Anna's activities, Agnivesh lost his prominence after a TV channel stealthily filmed him criticizing his former colleagues to one Kapilji on phone. The "sting" was carried out when Anna and his colleagues were locked in a tense confrontation with the government, and was seen as an act of betrayal by anti-corruption campaigners.
Agnivesh's claim that the "Kapilji" he was talking to was not HRD minister Kapil Sibal, but Kapilji Maharaj, a guru, did not find any takers from the anti-graft brigade.
Agnivesh chose the platform of the All India Federation of SC/ST Organizations - known critics of Team Anna and their version of the Jan Lokpal bill - to air his views. The Federation has alleged that the terms of the Jan Lokpal bill were loaded against non-upper castes: something that Agnivesh did not seem to agree with while he was with Team Anna. Naturally, the accusation of Brahmanvad went down well with his audience.
Agnivesh reasoned that he fell out with Team Anna after he failed to convince them to push the parliamentary Standing Committee considering the Lokpal bill to incorporate the provisions of the Jan Lokpal bill.
"...I tried to persuade them that the Standing Committee can make changes in government's version of Lokpal bill. It has the power to change the entire legislation...It is like a mini-Parliament....and we should meet, pressurize and convince the Committee to adopt provisions of the Jan Lokpal bill...we should keep meeting the Committee...but they did not listen to me," Agnivesh said.
Addressing the gathering, dalit leader Udit Raj demanded representation of dalits, Muslim and backwards in the Lokpal Committee and asked Anna Hazare to accept the provisions of Bahujan Lokpal to get the support of these social groups. "We want reservation in Lokpal. We demand that expand the Lokpal committee to accommodate social groups," he said, arguing that no law would be successful if it did not enjoy support of 85% of the population.

Anna Hazare starts week-long 'maun vrat'

Social activist Anna Hazare today began his week-long 'maun vrat' (vow of silence) at his native village for "atma shanti" (peace of soul).
"Anna began his maun vrat this morning. He is sitting under a banyan tree near the Padmavati temple here," Hazare's close aide, Datta Awari, told PTI.
The 74-year-old Gandhian will stay in a 'kuti' (hut) during the maun vrat, Awari said.
Hazare has been continuously interacting with people after ending his 12-day-old fast for a strong Lokpal Bill in Delhi in August, and this put a lot of strain on him, Awari said.
The vow of silence comes close on the heels of the recent assault by suspected Ram Sene activists on a key 'Team Anna' member, Prashant Bhushan, who had advocated a plebiscite in Kashmir.
Hazare has distanced himself from Bhushan's statement, saying he did not agree with it and that it was the senior lawyer's personal view.
After campaigning against it in the Hisar Lok Sabha by election, Anna Hazare had yesterday said he will work with Congress across the country if the UPA government brings a strong Lokpal Bill in the Winter session of Parliament and keeps its words on other reforms.
But he had also sent out a warning to the Congress that if the Lokpal Bill was not passed in the Winter session he will work against Congress in the coming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and four other states like in Hisar.
In a TV interview ahead of his 'maun vrat', the Gandhian had said after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's latest letter to him he was encouraged that the government would bring a strong Lokpal.
"If the government brings a strong Lokpal and keeps its other promises, why should I oppose the Congress. In fact we will work with the Congress," he had said referring to the Lokpal Bill and to electoral reforms including right to reject, decentralisation and more powers to gram sabhas.
Seeking to dispel the notion that Team Anna is anti-Congress, he had denied that Team Anna had campaigned against Congress in Hisar at the behest of BJP and RSS.
"I have only seen him (RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat) on TV, I have never met himor spoken to him. These are all allegations. In politics, political parties are ready to do anything. The Congress, BJP and RSS are together conspiring to defame Anna. I have nothing to do with the RSS or BJP," Hazare had said.
Insisting that it was very much part of his movement against corruption, RSS had yesterday said Hazare's comments that there was no support from the Sangh fountainhead to his Jan Lokpal campaign was beyond its comprehension.
"Anna had made some comments on the RSS chief and also indicated that he viewed the letter written by me in support of his movement as a conspiracy. These views, which were published widely in the media, go beyond my comprehension and cause immense pain to me.
"It is tragic that a person of Anna's stature too has got influenced by narrow political conspiracy," RSS General Secretary Suresh "Bhaiyyaji" Joshi had said in a statement.
He was referring to a letter written by Hazare in reply to Congress general secretary Digvijay Singh.
"The views expressed in his letter would prove detrimental to the anti-corruption movement only. It will be most unfortunate," Joshi had said.

Will work with Congress if Lokpal Bill is passed: Anna Hazare

RALEGAN SIDDHI: After campaigning against it in the Hisar Lok Sabha by election, Anna Hazare today said he will work with Congress across the country if the UPA government brings a strong Lokpal Bill in the Winter session of Parliament and keeps its words on other reforms.

But he also sent out a warning to the Congress that if the Lokpal Bill was not passed in the Winter session he will work against Congress in the coming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and four other states like in Hisar.

In an interview to 'Aaj Tak' before going on 'Maun Vrat', the Gandhian said after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's latest letter to him he was encouraged that the government would bring a strong Lokpal, the channel said in a release.

"If the government brings a strong Lokpal and keeps its other promises, why should I oppose the Congress. In fact we will work with the Congress," he said referring to the Lokpal Bill and to electoral reforms including right to reject, decentralisation and more powers to gram sabhas.

Seeking to dispel the notion that Team Anna is anti-Congress, he denied that Team Anna had against Congress in Hisar at the behest of BJP and RSS.

"I have only seen him (RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat) on TV, I have never met him or spoken to him. These are all allegations. In politics political parties are ready to do anything. The Congress, BJP and RSS are together conspiring to defame Anna. I have nothing to do with the RSS or BJP," Hazare said.

Hazare denied that that he had received a letter from the RSS. "I don't even recognise Ram Madhav," he said when asked why the RSS leader was allowed on stage during the Jantar Mantar agitation.

He said he had never thanked BJP President Nitin Gadkari for the BJP'S support. "If someone else from my team did, I can't say."

In a rebuff to Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan, Hazare said he completely disassociated himself with his remarks on Kashmir.

"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."

Hazare also said Arvind Kejriwal was wrong in saying that Anna Hazare is above Parliament. "Arvind Kejriwal has not told me what he has said. But if he did say Anna is above Parliament, it's wrong. People are above Parliament, not Anna."

He said he would tell his colleagues not to exceed their brief and speak on each and every issue.

Hazare laughed off Congress leader Digvijay Singh's claim that he was being set up as a Presidential candidate in 2012.

"I neither have the aptitude nor the desire to become President. In any case, if I become President I won't be able to do what I have been doing for society now."

He said the Congress and BJP were shooting in the dark by spreading such rumours.

Anna Hazare disowns Prashant Bhushan's J&K remarks

NEW DELHI: Faced with embarrassment over Prashant Bhushan's remarks advocating referendum for deciding the status of Jammu and Kashmir, Team Anna on Friday distanced itself from the lawyer-cum-activist's remarks and maintained that the northern state was an "integral'' part of India.
That Bhushan Junior's remarks had rattled the other members of the team was evident when their leader Anna Hazare while asserting that Jammu and Kashmir was very much a part of India dropped hints to suggest that the Supreme Court lawyer's continuance in the group was now under a cloud.
"Woh aage jaake hum log tay karenge, rakhna (hai), nahi rakhna (hai) (We will decide later whether he will remain with the team or not)," he told newspersons in his village, Ralegan Siddhi, in Maharashtra's Ahmednagar district, when asked whether Bhushan, a key member of the team cobbled together by the anti-graft crusader to lead his campaign, will continue to be a part of the group.
"Whatever views he has articulated, that is not right," he said, two days after the junior Bhushan was attacked by three youth in his New Supreme Court lawyer's chamber.
The other members of the team too echoed similar sentiments, even though they clarified that Prashant Bhushan would remain a part of their group. A meeting of their core committee was held during the course of the day in Noida, in which a resolution stating that Kashmir was an integral part of the country was adopted.
Arvind Kejriwal, a key member of the group, later held a press conference in the Capital in which he clarified Anna's remarks on the Supreme Court lawyer. "He is an integral part of the team. He is a much respected citizen who has worked in several areas, including environment and human rights. He has played a crucial role in the anti-corruption movement also," Kejriwal said.
He said he had spoken to Anna over phone. "He told me that he did not say that. What he told me was that the committee will decide who should be in or out,'' Kejriwal said.
The core committee meeting could not be attended by Prashant Bhushan, who had since then left for the US, retired IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who was away in Amsterdam, besides Anna.
Kejriwal claimed that he had shown the resolution to Bhushan last evening and during his conversation, the lawyer told him that he has no problem with the movement taking a stand on Kashmir, even though he had his own views on the subject.
"Bhushan's statement (on Kashmir) is not the views of the team. He has never asked the team. These are his personal views. The team is not responsible for the comments. We are not in agreement with him," Kejriwal said, adding, "We did not like this (statement). It is not our view.''
Hazare, earlier in the day, had reiterated that Kashmir was an integral part of the country and he would do whatever he could do for the state. "Kashmir is an integral part of the country and it will remain so and we will have to do whatever we have to ensure this. This mindless argument on the issue should stop,'' he told newspersons in his village.
A day earlier, Bedi too had said the remarks made by Bhushan Jr were his personal views. "This is Bhushan's personal view. I am for better governance and integration of the people with Jammu and Kashmir," the retired police officer said.

Anna's electoral reforms impractical: CEC SY Quraishi

Anna's electoral reforms impractical: CEC SY Quraishi
New Delhi: Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare faced some more opposition as his proposed electoral reforms got a thumbs down from Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi who called them impractical. Speaking exclusively to Karan Thapar, Quraishi said it isn't possible in India.
SY Quraishi: Right to recall means about 5 lakh people will have to sign the application to recall, then we will have to verify those signatures, even as we have a case in our court right now, one party has split with 250 affidavits on each side. It is maddening to find out which signature is bogus.
Karan Thapar: So you are dead against the right to recall?
SY Quraishi: Yes absolutely. It's not possible at all in India. It will derail and destabilise the country. Everywhere discontented people will start recalling.
Also, in order to improve the credibility of the Election Commission, Quraishi has suggested that the appointment of the high powered body be done by a collegium of people representing a cross section of political parties. He said that such a move will drastically help in improving the public perception about the institution.
Karan Thapar: You were appointed as the Chief Election Commissioner by the Manmohan Singh government. Would you feel more empowered, stronger and more able to take measures if Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley had been part of the appointing authority?
SY Quraishi: Public perception is so important and this will definitely help in the public perception of neutrality of the institution.
Karan Thapar: So the Election Commission would feel more powerful if it was appointed by a cross political body rather than that by the government.
SY Quraishi: Yes I would think so.






 

NMC hopes Citizen's Charter brings transparency, efficiency

NMC hopes Citizen's Charter brings transparency, efficiency
NAGPUR: The Nagpur Municipal Corporation has decided to ensure increased efficiency and transparency in its working. The NMC Standing Committee, on Saturday, passed a resolution to introduce citizen's charter -a crucial component of the Jan Lokpal bill proposed by Anna Hazare - to make officials accountable and help common people. The citizen's charter would be implemented after consent from the NMC general body.
Addressing newspersons after the Standing Committee meeting, Joshi said, "The citizen's charter will ensure massive improvement in NMC's works."
Once the Citizen's Charter is implemented, NMC will have to display a chart mentioning six points - nature of work, time duration, cost, concerned official with his/her contact number, concerned official and name, contact number of public grievance officer work. The chart will also be displayed outside the concerned department. It will be applicable for all works and departments related to the civic body.
Any citizen may lodge complaint with the citizen grievance officer in case of any delay in completion of work or compromise in quality or any malpractice. Currently, the citizens face hardships to reach concerned officer and getting their grievances redressed. For any information regarding works, the citizens seek information under RTI. Citizen's Charter will come in handy for citizens facing problems due to red tape.
If any concerned officer fails to complete the work in the stipulated time or maintain quality and transparency, he will be liable for a penalty of Rs 250 (minimum) to Rs 25,000 (maximum) per day till the officer completes the work, Joshi informed.
In case a revised deadline is issued and if the work is not complete, the concerned official would be fined Rs 500 (minimum) and Rs 50,000 (maximum) per day. "NMC will be the first civic body in the country to make provisions of such hefty penalty. The amount is just Rs 10-250 in MCD," Joshi said.
Welcoming the decision, RTI activist Rajeev Jagtap said the NMC needed something like this to rein in corruption that has been affecting civic amenities and works. Even the state government should implement Citizen's Charter in all departments," he said.

Anna Hazare effect in Jammu & Kashmir too

SRINAGAR: The Anna Hazare saga continues. The social activist whose anti-corruption crusade stir-red the nation and sho-ok the government drew huge crowds in the just-concluded Hisar bypoll.
Even in conflict-ridden Kashmir, the man from Ralegan Siddhi has found both mindspace and supporters. Newspaper seller Shauqat Rashid Wani is full of praise for the man who has spawned a cottage industry of Anna accessories.
"I remember seeing his face on the front page of local newspapers.We didn't have any protests or marches here but what Anna Hazare has done in India was praised here. We too need someone like that," says Wani.
Reactions of several other Kashmiris too reflected a similar sense of "us" and "them". For instance, Srinagar businessman Basheer Ahmed sees an "international" leader in Anna.
"Any leader rising in India should also look beyond the country. If he takes up our case, it can't be bad for him," says the 55-year-old.
In the past two decades, over 40,000 terrorists, civilians and armed personnel have been killed in a bloody conflict. Which is why optimism is a scarce commodity in these parts. Shopkeeper Abdur Rasheed says, "Nothing will happen. None of this is going to make a difference here. Kashmir functions on a different set of rules," he says.
In Jammu, the scene is different. Though there wasn't much action in the rural areas, the Anna effect could be felt in the towns.
As an act of solidarity, people came down to Jammu for a dharna at the time when Anna was on fast at the Ramlila ground.
Mohd Aslam Nawaz, who lost his ancestral land to a fraud, joined in a protest at the district headquarters of Poonch, which shares the border with Pakistan. "Hundreds had turned up. Young, old everyone," says Nawaz, an imam from Potha village.


 

‘If I win, it won’t be just because of Anna’

‘If I win, it won’t be just because of Anna’
Even as the impending Hisar election result is being seen as a test case for the electoral impact of social activist Anna Hazare, late Haryana chief minister Bhajan Lal’s son Kuldeep Bishnoi plays down the Anna impact in the result, which will be out on Monday.  The Team Anna had campaigned against the Congress in the Haryana town, asking people not to vote for the party.
Bishnoi, the candidate of the Haryana Janhit Congress and BJP combine, is locked in a battle with INLD’s Ajay Singh Chautala and Congress’ Jai Parkash. Both Bishnoi and Chautala have supported Anna’s anti-graft campaign.
“I hope to win but it will be not only because of the Anna factor. I have the legacy of my father’s work, people have hopes in me, our alliance with the BJP has strengthened our position and I also have a clean image,” Bishnoi told Hindustan Times in a freewheeling chat after the polling and two days ahead of counting.
“The Anna factor is the fifth one, and became important in the last four-five days of the campaign.”
Bishnoi has another complaint. He believes that rather than asking for a negative vote against the Congress, Team Anna should have asked people to vote for him.
“Team Anna should not have asked for just negative vote against the Congress but a positive vote for me, as Chautala too is facing corruption charges.”
Bishnoi, however, said he fully supported Anna’s effort to fight graft —like LK Advani’s anti-corruption Yatra —she stood with anyone who was against corruption.
Bishnoi, who is seen by his supporters as the tallest non-Jat face in Haryana’s politics— on the lines of his late father — says he stands for farmers’ movements against land acquisition as there should be “balanced development”.
“Rahul Gandhi went to Bhatta-Parsaul... why has he not come to Haryana to take up the land acquisition issue?”Bishnoi, however, did not attack Mayawati’s memorial for Dalit leaders, but says spending money on the poor would have been a greater Shraddhanjali (tribute) to them.

 

Need to check RTI misuse, says Anna

Need to check RTI misuse, says Anna
Ralegan Siddhi: Seasons Shopping DiscussionBlogsMamata's gorwing up - By Bhaskar Sen
Anna's vow of silenc... - By Deepak
Silence - By Satish K Dwivedi
Maun varat - annaji - By slchawla
Hazare maun vrata - By shan
Drama - By srinivas
Maun vrata of anna - By Sudhin Dutt
A 50-year-old man, who cheated people claiming to be Gandian Anna Hazare's nephew, was arrested by the Antop Hill police on Friday. The accused, Navin Kumar Hazari, and his accomplice Madhavi Pritre, 44, was arrested after a victim, Leviniza D'souza, lodged a complaint against Hazari, said the police. According to her complaint, Hazari approached her claiming to be the director of a Wadala-based financial consultancy firm and cheated her of Rs33 lakh. He allegedly took 13 blank cheques under the pretext of filing income tax returns for her company and encashed them without her permission. Pritre allegedly forged signatures for Hazari.
The police said that using his surname, which is similar to that of the Gandhian, he would dupe people and win their trust. Apart from duping firms, Hazari allegedly cheated college students promising them admission into desired courses.
"We are investigating how many people have the duo cheated," said Shamsher Pathan, senior inspector of Antop Hill police station.

anna: Parallel govt dangerousFight against terror and PakKasab’s birthday How safe is knee replacement? 
Social activist Anna Hazare, a key advocate of the Right to Information Act, said on Saturday that some changes are needed in the Act as some people were making a “business” out of it. He also said that he has conveyed this to the government.
Hazare was responding to PM Manmohan Singh’s remarks on Friday that the RTI Act needed a critical relook “as it was adversely affecting deliberative processes in the government”.
Hazare said he believed that the government should be transparent, for which it is necessary that andar ki baatein should come out into public domain. “But some people have made it their business. They are demanding information that they don’t need and are using it to blackmail people,” he said.
Hazare said that he has conveyed to the government some measures that should be adopted to keep miscreants at bay.
“Repeated demand for information also hampers the government’s working,” he said. “Some people demand 4,000-5,000 copies and file repeated RTIs. Kuch brake lagana chahiye,” Hazare said.

Hisar bypoll: Campaigning ends under shadow of Anna factor

With Anna factor raising the stakes for the Congress, the high-pitched campaign for Hisar Lok Sabha bypoll dominated by wranglings between the ruling party and Team Anna came to an end on Tuesday evening.

With political heavyweights locked in a triangular contest, the October 13 poll battle has turned fierce for Congress as it has not only fight its opponents INLD and BJP-HJC but also counter any negative fallout of Team Hazare’s campaign which has openly come out against the party over the Lokpal issue.

Congress has fielded three-time MP from Hisar, Jai Prakash. He is pitted against Haryana Janhit Congress’ Kuldeep Bishnoi, son of late Chief Minister Bhajan Lal, and main opposition INLD’s Ajay Singh Chautala.

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda had been camping here for over a fortnight canvassing for his party candidate Jai Prakash. While Mr. Hooda’s prestige is at stake as he had prevailed upon the Congress high command to name Mr. Prakash as candidate, the poll is equally important for Mr. Bishnoi and the Chautalas.

Following Team Anna’s appeal to people not to vote for Congress in Hisar bypolls, the chief ministers of Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan and senior party leaders at a poll rally on Monday hit back at the civil society members, dubbing them as agents of Opposition “trying to grind their own axe in the guise of fighting graft”.

INLD also held its poll campaign here today and asked voters to teach a lesson to the Congress under which corruption has allegedly flourished.

During poll campaign, Mr. Bishnoi invoked his late father Bhajan Lal and claimed himself to be the only “clean” candidate fighting from Hisar.

“I am Anna’s fan and have been supporting his cause right from day one. Anna has asked people to leave out Congress and choose a candidate with clean image. People know reputation of Chautalas who are facing charges for amassing disproportionate income,” Mr. Bishnoi had said.

Ajay Chautala, at present sitting MLA from Dabwali in Sirsa, also has tried to use the Anna card.

“Our party was the first to support him. We were even ready to pass a resolution in the Haryana Assembly to urge the central government to pass Jan Lokpal Bill as framed by team Anna, but the Congress regime in the state did not support us,” Mr. Chautala said.

Meanwhile, Congress has tried to put up a brave front during the poll campaign. Haryana unit chief Phool Chand Mullana said the party is not perturbed by Team Anna’s campaign and people will cast votes for Congress.

Mr. Bishnoi, whose five HJC MLAs switched over to the Congress immediately after the October 2009 Assembly polls, has his political future at stake.

Also at stake is INLD’s reputation, particularly in the light of CBI cases facing its top leadership including Ajay. The party reckons itself as the main challenger.

In all, there are 40 candidates, mostly Independents, in the fray for the bypolls in the parliamentary constituency which has approximately 13.32 lakh voters including 7.29 lakh males.

The Anna Party..!

“…If Anna Hazare wants to get into politics, he should form his own party…” Renuka Chowdhury, Congress spokesman.
It’s out in the open in Haryana, where Hazare has directed voters to vote against the Congress in the by-election. The man who went on a much-publicized fast against corruption, has started focusing his fight against a particular political party. The guru has now walked into the boxing ring, not to fight with his own bare fists, but to jump on the back of the opposition parties and help defeat the Congress.
“So sir, why don’t you do the fair thing and form your own party; the Anna Party.”
“The Anna party?”
“Yes, but first have an election, elect a President! Let that be your first move against the corrupt practices of ‘high commands’ and ‘supremos’ Have a party election as the constitution says you should and elect a leader!”
“Elect?”
“Yes sir, where your people will elect who they want as the head! You or Kiran Bedi, or that young man who waves the flag so well, or that man who’s always on the mobile whenever the cameras focus on him?”
“B..but, I am the leader!”
“Let it be said through a vote! They may want someone else.”
“It is I who started this movement against corruption, I went on a fast. It is I who built this whole dramatic uprising! How would they dare choose another?”
“Maybe someone like Kejriwal, clever speaker, or someone who dresses like Kiran Bedi; latest kurtas and kurtis, with the chakra embroidered so prettily in the middle!”
“It is not about kurtas and kurtis. It is about….”
“Let the people decide sir!”
“But they may fall in the trap!”
“What trap?”
“They may chose someone who wears better kurtas than me, or with little chakras embroidered in the middle?”
“That is democracy sir!”
“People are foolish!”
“We have noticed you think that others are foolish sir. Either you accept my bill, or face repercussions. When you lie on a couch in public and say do or die, do you know who is going to die sir?”
“Corruption?”
“No sir, it is the death of democracy. When you put a sword to a man’s head..”
“I do not believe in violence!”
“A fast to death is a violent act sir, dressed in the camouflage of non-violence!”
“So what do you want me to do?”
“Start your own party, elect a leader…”
“No, either my way, or no way!”
“Thank you. That is exactly what a ‘fast unto death’ tantrum also says sir..!”

Anna burns Ravana's effigy at Ralegan Siddhi

Anna Hazare on Thursday performed the traditional burning of demon king Ravana's effigy on the occasion of Dusshera at his village Ralegan Siddhi in western Maharashtra.

"It is good that by setting Ravana's effigy on fire, people will remember that he was an evil person. But there is a Ravana inside everyone," he said.

Earlier, the 74-year-old anti-corruption crusader led the villagers in a procession from the Padmavati temple in the village in Ahmednagar district.

Anna Hazare said it is good that by setting Ravana's effigy on fire, people will remember that he was an evil perso

He is scheduled to begin a visit of some states as part of his campaign against corruption and demand to get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed in Parliament.

Hazare dismisses RSS claim; Cong attacks him

The RSS statement that it was part of Anna Hazare's movement on Friday snowballed into a controversy with the Gandhian dismissing the claim and Congress saying it has given lie to his claim of being non-partisan.
Debunking the RSS claim, Hazare told reporters, "nobody approached me. Not a single RSS worker met me or approached me. How are they saying this? I don't know."

He was reacting to RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat's remarks at the RSS' annual 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".
Referring to Bhagwat's claim, Congress general secretary Digvijaya Singh said Bhagwat's Dussehera speech "vindicated" what he had been saying all along that "the campaigns of Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare have been planned, engineered and organized by the RSS".
"I still hold to it," he told reporters in here.
Taking a jibe at Hazare for his previous reactions to his such remarks, 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 that Hazare should now accept the RSS involvement in his agitation since Bhagwat has already "admitted" it.
At the AICC briefing, party spokesperson Manish Tewari echoed similar views saying "what is evident need not to be evidenced" when asked about Bhagwat's statements.
The party reaction came against the backdrop of the Gandhian announcing his plans to campaign against it in the Hisar Lok Sabha bypoll.
Tewari, however, downplayed the issue saying that Congress fights all the elections with full gusto and accepts people's verdict with grace. "We will try our best to win the trust of the people," he added when pointed out that Hazare has decided to campaign against Congress there.
Bhagwat in his speech yesterday lashed out at government for attempting to crush anti-corruption movement and condemned the reported police brutality on the supporters of Baba Ramdev at Ramlila Maidan in June

Neerja Chowdhury: The toughest challenges before Sonia Gandhi

Neerja Chowdhury: The toughest challenges before Sonia Gandhi
In the way she has calibrated her public appearances following her surgery abroad, Sonia Gandhi wanted to send a clear signal to her party — and to the country — that she is back in business.
She wanted to scotch the rumours about her ill health, creating an element of insecurity and uncertainty in the Congress about the shape of things to come.
Her decision to chair the party meeting to decide tickets for the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh elections, her personal intervention in the spat between senior ministers Pranab Mukherji and P Chidambaram, her courtesy call on President Pratibha Patil, her call on the Lok Sabha speaker, and her visit to Raj Ghat on Gandhi Jayanti where the cameras caught her walking briskly and looking like her old self, all these were meant to convey the same message — that she is firmly in the saddle.
Her meeting with Meira Kumar sent the Congress grapevine in a tizz — was Kumar was being considered as the party’s chief ministerial candidate in Uttar Pradesh?
The government has lost a lot of ground in the last one year, and already there are serious misgivings about its ability to complete a full term. Events are pushing the country’s politics into what can be described as the ‘pre-Mandal politics of VP Singh’ pitted against his ‘post-Mandal politics’.
The first phase in 1987-89 saw the anti-corruption fervour (symbolised by kickbacks in the Bofors gun deal), capturing the imagination of urban middle-class India and essentially the upper castes. Today’s middle-class mood in urban India against corruption is somewhat reminiscent of that phase, and epitomised by the Anna agitation. In all likelihood, the BJP may become its biggest beneficiary.
Small wonder then that LK Advani is about to undertake his Janchetna Yatra against corruption in 27 states and 100 districts of the country, and Kalraj Mishra and Rajnath Singh will criss-cross through UP on their mini yatras taking up the same theme.
Anna Hazare has also come out much more openly against the Congress. Without waiting to see if the government brings the Lokpal bill that it promised in the winter session of Parliament, he has already come out against the Congress candidate in the Hissar by-election in Haryana. He has also declared that he would oppose the Congress in UP. The urban middle class — and the upper castes — are essentially the catchment area of both Anna and the BJP.
As things stand, no matter what the Congress has done, and no matter which weighty politician or corporate honcho has gone to jail on corruption charges, the party has not managed to stem the damage or win back the support of this opinion-making group.
The second phase of VP Singh’s politics revolved around the rise of OBCs, Dalits and Muslims, and it changed north Indian politics. The question then arises: Can a beleagured Congress recreate this constituency for itself?
The Muslims can gravitate to the Congress in a national election and one of the reasons why the RSS may be getting a rethink on Narendra Modi as BJP’s PM candidate is to prevent this from happening.
Unlike in the past, the Dalits are not with the Congress. Rahul Gandhi has made sporadic attempts to woo Dalits by visiting their huts and staying in their hamlets, but the Jatavs in UP remain firmly behind Mayawati. So far the Congress has not come out with a strategy to win over, if not the Jatavs, then at least the Valmiks and other SC communities in UP.
As for the OBCs, traditionally, they have not constituted the Congress’ vote base.But the party could forge an alliance with the OBC parties, and as a matter of interest, they did not react favourably to the Anna agitation because they suspected it as an attempt to restore the rule of the upper castes. But it will not be so easy for the Congress to reach out to Mulayam Singh’s SP, Deve Gowda’s JD-S or even Ajit Singh’s RLD, or the smaller groups and rumps, not only because they will demand their pound of flesh but also because it will have to give up its go-it alone policy for revival.
Sonia Gandhi’s immediate challenge is to galvanise the party — and forge alliances, if necessary— so that it can win the forthcoming elections in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and form a coalition government in UP with Mulayam Singh Yadav (which can happen only if the Congress can emerge as the kingmaker). Only this can help turn around the situation for the Congress, given the beating the party’s image has taken in recent months, and the demoralisation in its ranks.
The mid-term challenge before Sonia Gandhi is to fashion a new base for the party around a new political axis, and new themes that catch the attention of its potential constituents — like a reduction in food prices, which has caused the party more damage than anything else, a fair compensation for land, when acquired, to farmers, adequate and guaranteed food security. In other words, to go back to being the party of the aam admi in more than just rhetoric.
It is not as if all the damage was done only in the five weeks that Sonia Gandhi was abroad, a period that coincided with the Anna agitation. Even before, the Congress was unable to get on top of a difficult situation with successive scams taking their toll. But what is still going for Sonia Gandhi is that she still wields a moral authority in the party, and this was evident when she could get warring senior leaders to ‘patch-up.’

Land Acquisition Bill next

Anna Hazare takes on Land Acquisition Bill next
With an eye on Uttar Pradesh assembly polls next year, the Congress led government is in a hurry to get the Land Acquisition Bill 2011 passed. But the road ahead may not be that easy for them. Already fighting with government on Lokpal front, Team Anna has now decided to write to the parliament’s standing committee on rural development which is examining the bill.
Stating that the bill seeks to ensure a transparent process of land acquisition and also the paying of fair compensation, the committee on Saturday issued advertisements in major newspapers inviting suggestions on the bill.
For land acquisition, the bill envisages compensation four times the market value in rural areas and double in urban areas. It also proposes norms for rehabilitation and resettlement for all the displaced persons. However, the activists are not all happy about it and feel it has been done in hurry.
Now since the committee has asked for suggestions on the land bill, Team Anna has decided to send their representation. “We will definitely send our representation on this bill to the standing committee. We would also be willing to appear before them if they ask us to,” Manish Sisodia, core committee member of team Anna, told DNA.
Ekta Parishad President PV Rajagopal, another important member of team Anna, also confirmed to DNA that he would be sending representation to the standing committee. “The bill makes land as a commodity and has a market centric approach.
By this, government is facilitating transfer of farmer’s land to corporate houses. It will be bad for country’s food security. They are trying to buy people,” he said.

Vivek Oberoi meets Anna Hazare

Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi met social activist Anna Hazare at his Ralegan home in Maharashtra.
The actor visited the anti-corruption crusader to seek his blessings and also seek his advice on how he could better his social responsibilities as an actor.
He had only words of praise for Ralegan Siddhi, Anna Hazare's home town saying that he didn't feel like he had entered a drought-hit area but felt like he was in a park.
"I am shocked after seeing this village. People used to call this drought-hit region. But coming here I feel I have entered a nature's park," the actor said.
Ralegan Siddhi is considered to be a model of environmental conservation and since 1975, has been led by Anna Hazare.
"We had come here to seek his blessing. It felt nice to meet him. My family and I do a lot of social work and we are associated with a couple of NGOs. Annaji is an inspiration to all of us. He is a fountain of inspiration. He has guided us to make India a better nation. We have to work hard to make India great," he added

Anna Hazare not Shiv Sena's 'right' man

At a time when the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh has made public its decision to support anti-corruption campaign the Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray has declared a war against social reformer Anna Hazare.
The BJP and Sena who are alliance partners find themselves at crossroads over Hazare.
The RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has sent across a strong signal to its rank and file to come out in full support of the Hazare’s campaign against corruption.
He maintained that corruption which is deeply rooted in the system needs to be uprooted at any cost.
The RSS position has emboldened the BJP which plans to take political mileage riding high on the anti-corruption crusade.
However, it finds itself in a peculiar situation after Thackeray appears to have scaled the war against Hazare. What spared the ugly battle was Thackeray, 84 chiding Team Anna’s event management where variety of juices /food was being served to stream of visitors during the 12-day fast undertaken by Hazare at the Ramlila Grounds in Delhi. In a sharp rebuke Hazare on Friday said, “Thackeray should have restrained himself from making uncharitable remarks. But I guess it is the result of his old age.” Not one to overlook criticism, Thackeray warned Hazare, “Don’t get into enmity with us. And don’t get swayed by individuals with vested interests trying to provoke you against us.”
According to political observers, “The Sena versus Hazare could be the beginning of a long drawn battle.”
The developments which come ahead of senior BJP leader LK Advani’s rath yatra against corruption has left many wondering about the political ramifications on the Sena-BJP alliance. A senior Sena leader said, “Thackeray’s Dushera rally speech where he spoke about Hazare’s campaign has been distorted. Thackeray is not against the anti-corruption movement. What he criticised was the “tamasha” that was witnessed during the 12-day fast of Hazare with every corrupt individual wearing ‘I am Anna’ cap to hide his corruption.”
Sources in BJP said, “Advani’s rath yatra beginning from October 11 will go ahead.” The political managers believe RSS decision to support Hazare campaign will further help in image building of the BJP. Insiders indicated, “The RSS formal announcement has also dispelled the ambiguity regarding their political positioning on Hazare.”
Sources said, “In any case right wing organisations were being accused of providing the logistics to make Hazare’s campaign a success. Now, we are openly stating our support to the cause and simultaneously taking it forward through Advani’s rath yatra.”

Analysis: More than lighting candles for Hazare support, your vote matters

Imagine for a moment what could happen if all those thousands of Anna Hazare supporters stepped out with families to exercise their vote whenever the next election takes place in city, town
or village.
Holding lighted candles to support Hazare during his two fasts to press for the Jan Lokpal Bill did make a pretty picture for TV cameras and newspapers. As did the show of solidarity by wearing ‘I am Anna’ caps which instantly became fashionable. Endorsing pro-Anna online petitions and forwarding chain mails from the comfort of one’s home or office also gave many the satisfaction of being part of the Hazare movement.
All this will be reduced to waste unless this collective sentiment is translated into the power of vote. Such is the scourge of political and politically-influenced bureaucratic corruption in our country that nothing less than a relentless crusade will eradicate the deep-rooted cancer of corruption.
In such a situation, 64 years after Independence, there’s a glimmer of hope that something worthwhile will emerge from Hazare’s movement.
The Gandhian crusader has been accused of using Gandhian tactics as a tool to blackmail, of being disrespectful of “parliamentary procedures” and now, of playing into the hands of the opposition by deciding to campaign against the Congress in the October 13 Hissar by-poll in Haryana.
The fact is, the Indian politician is afraid of just two things today — suffering the wrath of the top-most rungs of the judiciary, which has made an example of the Suresh Kalmadis, A Rajas and Kanimozhis of the day, and the power of the vote which, in recent months, toppled the communists in West Bengal and the DMK in Tamil Nadu.
Will the Congress suffer the same fate in the 2014 general elections as more scams surface and the infighting intensifies? Who will replace Manmohan Singh? Will Sonia Gandhi continue to lead? While it is too early to predict, the fact is Hazare has touched a raw nerve in the Congress.
On October 4, Hazare warned in his village, Ralegan Siddhi, that he would urge the voters of Hissar not to vote for the Congress unless a commitment was made to introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill in the winter session of Parliament. The threat was issued after candidates from all major political parties in Hissar — barring the Congress — supported the Lokpal Bill.
Hazare said that as a part of the Jan Lokpal movement, a similar appeal would be made in other states that face assembly polls next year. Barely four months from now municipal elections will take place in Maharashtra and, already, the ruling Congress in Pune is terrified with Anna’s anti-Congress threat.
Today, nobody in the country, neither the Aruna Roy group with all its arguments for “parliamentary procedures” (which failed to tackle corruption in the last six decades) nor technocrats like Nandan Nilekani or any politician, can take on the Congress. The only person who has succeeded is Anna Hazare considering the chord he has struck with the middle class.
It is important to understand that Hazare is just a symbol and we Indians will have to fight many a battle with or without him. One powerful way of doing that effectively is to diligently exercise the power of our vote.

'Anna above Parliament'

'Anna above Parliament'
Digvijay Singh had lashed out at Anna Hazare who had categorically denied that neither the BJP nor the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh had supported his hunger strike against corruption at New Delhi's Ramlila maidan. "The RSS chief has gone on record saying that they had lent support to Anna's movement. This goes on to prove that there was a nexus between the two. I have been told that BJP told Anna that the party would put him up as Presidential candidate with support from other opposition parties," he told reporters at the Congress headquarters on Sunday.
Hazare's close aide Prashant Bhushan told rediff.com that Digvijay Singh was in the habit of making such statements and hence no one should take them seriously.

Anna welcomes move to release taped conversations of committee

Anna welcomes move to release taped conversations of committee
 New Delhi
Social activist and close aide of Anna Hazare, Prashant Bhushan, said that the move would help their cause and will let people know the truth.
Social activist Anna Hazare has welcomed the government's decision to release the taped conversations between members of the Jan Lokpal bill drafting committee. "It is a welcome move", said Hazare. The government of India decided to release the tapes to right to information activist Subash Aggarwal. Aggarwal had filed an application on June 7 to get the relevant material.
Advocate and social activist Prashant Bhushan, a close aide of Hazare, said that the move would help their cause and people would know the truth. RTI activist Aggarwal told rediff.com that he had received a call from RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal's office to pass on the tapes so that they could be released to the media.

Aggarwal has, however, been asked to pay Rs 450 for the tapes, which are being readied, and will be handed to him once he makes the payment. 

Neither PM nor I got right feedback during fast, says Anna

Ego problems among key interlocutors on both sides resulted in miscommunication, and neither he nor Prime Minister Manmohan Singh “got the right feedback” during the Ramlila Maidan fast, activist Anna Hazare told The New York Times.
“There were some ego problems. From the government side it was P Chidambaram and Kapil Sibal. From our side also there were some issues. I was not getting the right feedback, nor was the prime minister. That complicated issues,” Hazare said.

Anna Hazare's jibe gainst Congress reveals rift in his camp

Divisions within Anna Hazare's own camp have come to the fore with his threat to the Congress that he would ask people not to vote for the party if his version of the Lokpal Bill was not passed in Parliament's winter session.

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.

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.

Don't want to hold any post: Anna Hazare

MUMBAI: Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has said he has no desire to hold any post as it would not then be possible for him to continue with the work he is doing at present.

"I don't desire to be the president. Whatever work is being done by me today won't be possible if I hold that post," Hazare said in a TV interview.

‘Life after Anna's fast' for corporates

The after-effect of Anna Hazare's fast may have raised the nervousness of many corporates, especially those companies that depend on Government business. The episode is likely to have several unintended consequences for Corporate India. Some of these include:

Whistle-blowers: This fast has gained unprecedented traction among the ‘middle class', many of whom could be employees of large corporates, with access to crucial information. Such potential whistleblowers could spring surprises that could affect businesses seriously, as has been witnessed in some of the recent high-profile scam-tainted companies.

CVC, CBI refuse to come under Lokpal bill

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday opposed Anna Hazare team's proposal of bringing them under the control of the proposed anti-graft Lokpal, but favoured the idea of making their chiefs the members of this watchdog. In their

presentations before the parliamentary standing committee on law and justice, which is currently examining the Lokpal bill, CVC Pradeep Kumar and CBI director AP Singh, argued for maintaining their respective organisational structures.

Anna no modern-day Gandhi, says scholar

Ahmedabad: Anna Hazare can't be termed a modern-day Mahatma Gandhi and his fast against corruption was not a 'satyagraha', says a Gandhian scholar who is miffed over the comparison between the activist and the Father of the Nation.
"Gandhi fasted for self-purification. His satyagaraha meant victory for all. He never fasted to conquer anybody," Dina Ben Patel said referring to Hazare's fast to make the government bring in a strong anti-corruption Lokpal Bill.

Anna Hazare might travel to Manipur soon to meet Irom Sharmila

Veteran Gandhian Anna Hazare is likely to travel to Manipur to personally urge rights activist Irom Sharmila to end her 10-year-old hunger strike.

There were some ego problems in our team, admits Anna

Ralegan Siddhi:  When we arrived in Anna Hazare's village, the famous Ralegan Siddhi in rural Maharashtra, late last week, an aide had a curt message for us. Anna-ji, he said icily, was recovering from a long journey the previous day and would not be receiving any visitors.

Anna Hazare to bless Bundelkhand Congress

LUCKNOW: The battle for Budelkhand is all set to hot up with anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare throwing his weight behind the Bundelkhand Congress, an outfit launched by actor-turned-political activist Raja Bundela. On Bundela's invitation, Anna is expected to address three public meetings in the region in December, apart from scanning and choosing suitable candidates for the two-month-old party.

Review toll collection policy in one month, says Hazare

Social worker Anna Hazare has given the state government a deadline of one month to review its toll collection policy, which he claimed affects vehicle users at toll plazas across Maharashtra. “There are severe discrepancies in the way that toll is collected in the state. The existing

toll policy needs to be reviewed to ensure that the general population is not exploited,” Hazare said in Ralegan Siddhi, after a meeting with a team of officials from the public works department (PWD) on Tuesday.

No 'ideological confusion' in anti-Congress appeal: Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare feels there is no 'ideological confusion' in his anti-Congress posture and the appeal to elect 'good people' from all parties.The anti-corruption crusader is also unapologetic about the prospect of BJP benefiting from his anti-Congress stance after his announcement on Tuesday that he would campaign against the Congress in five states going to poll next year if the Jan Lokpal Bill was not passed in Winter Session of Parliament. 

Vote for persons with political integrity: Anna

New Delhi: Appealing to the nation to vote for persons with high political and moral integrity, Anna Hazare on Tuesday also asked people not to vote for the Congress if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in the Winter Session of Parliament.

Case against Hazare supporters dropped in Dubai

DUBAI: The Dubai Public Prosecution has dropped a case against five Indian nationals who were arrested on the charges of violating the UAE national security laws after organising a walk in support of social activist Anna Hazare, a news report has said.

The five Indians were held by the Dubai Police for organising a 3km walk in the city without obtaining permission from the local authorities.

PMC election Anna may campaign for clean candidates in city

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare likely to decide exact plan of action today, say people close to activist after his announcement in Ralegansiddhi Gramsabha that he will support and campaign for poll candidates with untainted past.

Anna's movement most relevant in UP, says BJP

The Uttar Pradesh unit of the BJP today said the anti-graft movement of social activist Anna Hazare is most relevant in Uttar Pradesh and the party will support it. "Hazare's movement is most relevant in Uttar Pradesh and the party will back it," state BJP chief Surya Pratap Shahi said.

Shahi is here to oversee preparations for the proposed rath yatra of senior party leader L K Advani starting from Jai Prakash Narain's native village Sitabdiyara which lies on UP-Bihar border.

Advani will kick off his anti-corruption yatra from Sitabdiara village in Bihar's Saran district on October 11 The BJP both welcomes and supports Anna's movement in Uttar Pradesh, said Shahi. Attacking BSP, SP and Congress, he said "all these parties are one on the issue of corruption." The BJP leader said his party would highlight Mayawati's "jungleraj" during the upcoming assembly polls in the state.

Harry Potter, Anna Hazare, Kaziranga park add flavour to Puja

Magical exploits of Harry Potter, armed poachers in the Kaziranga National Park being thwarted by Ma Durga, wondrous mysteries of Ajanta and Elora caves and a fasting Anna Hazare -- puja revellers in Guwahati have never had it so good. And as the proverbial icing on the cake of merriment,

revellers are lavished with diverse mouth-watering food, the piece de resistance being special Chinese dishes prepared by stat hotels for the occasion.

Pakistani team to meet Anna Hazare for tips on anti-graft crusade

Social activist Anna Hazare, who led one of India's biggest mass movements against corruption, will receive a Pakistani delegation at his home in Ralegan Siddhi, Maharashtra, on Wednesday to seek his opinion on starting a similar drive in their country.
The delegation constitutes three legal experts, including former Pakistan law minister Iqbal Haider. The meeting has been organised by the NGO Sarhad.

Manish Tewari apologises in writing, Anna Hazare closes case

Manish Tewari apologises in writing, Anna Hazare closes case
 Congress MP and spokesman Manish Tewari, who took his party's distaste for anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare to the public by branding him 'corrupt,' has tendered a written apology to Hazare.
Following the written apology, Hazare's lawyer Milind Pawar said in Pune that the activist asked him to treat the matter as closed. "In the wake of the written apology by Tiwari, Annaji has asked me to close the matter," Pawar told a news agency. Pawar had on September 8 slapped Tewari with a legal notice for defamation.

Kangana Ranaut desires Anna Hazare!

Kangana Ranaut desires Anna Hazare!
MUMBAI: "I desire Anna Hazare!" Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut surprised her host Simi Garewal with this candid admission on the show India's Most Desirable.
Apparently when Kangana was asked by Simi who she thinks has redefined their status to become a symbol of desirability? She replied, "Well desirable has its own definition you know. If I have to give you a really honest answer you know and that that might just put you off, you would say you're crazy, I want to name a person, you're going to slap me on my face. I desire Anna Hazare."