Team Anna trains guns on MPs, wants work audit

Training guns on parliamentarians, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare will write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking a performance audit of MPs, his aide Arvind Kejriwal said on Saturday.

"In the next few days, Hazare will write to Manmohan Singh. It is vital for the common man to know whether their elected representatives live up to their hopes and aspirations,” said Kejriwal, who heads India Against Corruption (IAC), the network that backed Hazare's fast in New Delhi.

IAC will also meet Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi to demand a "right to reject" clause for candidates in the coming elections in various states and other bodies, he said.

Addressing reporters after the first day's deliberations by Team Anna's core committee at the Padmavati Temple complex here, Kejriwal said the meeting, presided over by Hazare, also discussed major issues like electoral reforms and right to reject and right to recall, the land acquisition bill, and decentralisation of power up to the village level.

Kejriwal said in the meeting, former Karnataka Lok Ayukta Santosh Hegde revealed how on December 23, 2008, the Lok Sabha had passed 17 bills in just 12 minutes.

"Besides, in the period between 2004-09, only 189 members of both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha spoke on any issues. So, there is an issue on how to fix the responsibilities of the MPs," he said.

On the meeting with the poll panel chief, he said: "Now we have the 49-O form in which you can specify, 'None of the Above'.

"We shall demand that this be included in the voting machines. If this gets maximum votes, then there should be a re-election. For this, there is no need for any constitutional amendment." Kejriwal said.

Taking a potshot at Bharatiya Janata Party leader LK Advani over his proposed nationwide 'rath yatra' on the issue of corruption, Kejriwal said that "the days of 'rathyatras and processions are over".

Instead, he suggested that all BJP-ruled states must set up Lokayuktas to tackle corruption.

Kejriwal, flanked by former police officer Kiran Bedi, jurist Shanti Bhushan and activist Medha Patkar, termed as "wrong" allegations by social activist Aruna Roy that Team Anna was not ready to talk to her.

He claimed that a few months ago, when he went to meet her, she declined to speak to him and showed him the door.

"However, we are ready to discuss any of these issues with her on any public platform," Kejriwal said.

Earlier, setting the tone for the two-day core committee conclave, Hazare urged people to protest outside the houses of MPs opposed to the Jan Lokpal Bill.

"We should gherao the houses of MPs opposing the Jan Lokpal Bill. They should not be allowed to come out," the 74 year old told the gathering in his village in Ahmednagar district.

He also asked people not to re-elect such MPs.

“The people must be very careful while electing their MPs in future elections. Those who were against the Jan Lokpal Bill or not supportive must be rejected,” Hazare exhorted.

He reiterated that the fight against corruption will be a long one and would continue till the country India is rid of corruption at all levels.

Besides 45 members of the core committee, several other representatives from different organisations have come here to chart out the future course of the anti-corruption movement.