Team Anna stops anti-Congress tirade

In a volte-face, Team Anna has decided not to target any political party in the ensuing elections to legislative assemblies in Uttar Pradesh and four other states. This was announced by the team’s core committee member, Arvind Kejriwal, on Tuesday at the anti-corruption crusader, Anna Hazare’s village, Ralegan Siddhi.

Instead of launching a negative campaign, Team Anna will campaign on three broad-based issues: differences between the Jan Lokpal proposal and the Lokpal Bill introduced in Parliament, the silence of most political parties on the setting up of a strong Lok Ayukta and the need to increase people’s participation in the present day democratic setup.

Kejriwal, along with other team members, Kumar Vishwas and Prashant Bhushan, were in the village for urgent talks with the crusader, who is recuperating after his recent hospitalisation for weakness and other ailments.

Speaking to the media, Kejriwal said, “It was decided in our core committee meeting in New Delhi on Monday that we should campaign in the five states facing the polls, but we would not target any political party. We had come to meet Anna and to apprise him of the decision, which he endorsed.”

This marks a U-turn in the team’s earlier stance, which singled out the ruling Congress party for its failure to bring out a strong anti-corruption bill at the Centre. During his fast for a strong Lokpal bill, Hazare had announced his decision to campaign against the party in the five states that are to face the polls in the next two months and also in the general elections to be held in the next two years.

Justifying their change of stance, Kejriwal said the absence of a clear alternative in terms of a non-corrupt political party had compelled them to change their strategy. “In today’s scenario, corruption has become endemic to a majority of the political parties and thus, when people asked us for an alternative to the Congress, we were not able to present one,” he said.

According to Kejriwal, Team Anna members will tour the poll-bound states on the above agenda. “Anna is physically weak and it would not be possible for him to go on the trail. He would take a final decision about his future course of action once he recovers strength,” he said.

Noted Supreme Court advocate Prashant Bhushan will conduct a meeting in New Delhi on January 26 to discuss ways  to strengthen the “republic setup in the country as in the present day scenario, the common man is kept out of most of the decision-making process.”