In an indication that the ‘India Against Corruption’ movement is leaning towards formation of a political alternative, Team Anna members Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi called on supporters of its anti-corruption movement to prepare for a long struggle ahead culminating in the 2014 general elections. With the government yet to open any communication channels with IAC, anti-graft activist Anna Hazare said he would not talk to any Ministers — not even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — until his demands were met.
Immediately after a speech by political commentator Yogendra Yadav exhorting team member Arvind Kejriwal to give up his fast and form a political alternative to the existing mainstream political parties, Mr. Bhushan in his address said: “Like Yogendra Yadav said, it is time for an alternative politics to shape up. Power should return to the hands of the people. I agree with Yogendra Yadav that Anna Hazare, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodhia and Gopal Rai should give up their fast. Their lives are very valuable and are needed to form an alternative political forum.”
Three questions
Mr. Hazare said he was constantly being asked three questions: what if the government did not negotiate with his team, till when would the struggle continue, and had the movement lost its way. “I will not speak to the Ministers or their representatives or to the Prime Minister again until our demand for a strong Lokpal Bill is addressed. This movement will continue till politics is cleaned up. Our struggle has not lost its way — I am clear that if the Jan Lokpal Bill is passed at least 70 per cent of the corruption will end.” He also threatened to return his Padma Vibhushan.
Earlier in the day, both Mr. Hazare, who has been fasting for three days, and Mr. Kejriwal, who was on the seventh day of his fast, apologised for the attack on mediapersons late on Monday night by alleged IAC supporters. Mr. Hazare also warned that he would call off his fast if such an incident occurred again.
‘Society will speak up’
Dr. Yadav said: “Everyone is worried about the health of those fasting, but neither the ruling nor opposition parties will address your demands. What will happen to this movement, you will ask? The government is not this country. India is very big; and this government is small in comparison. It is this country’s tradition that when the king and the government do not respond, society will speak up. People representing society have come and will keep coming to join your struggle. Arvind, Manish and Gopal — your lives are too valuable to sacrifice here. There is a bigger job for you. I foresee a deluge that will wash away all the dirt in our politics today and it is your job to provide leadership to this alternative.”
Doctors from the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital advised Mr. Kejriwal and Mr. Rai to give up their fast as their vitals had deteriorated. Mr. Kejriwal said he had come prepared to sacrifice his life and not go to a hospital.
Keywords: Anti-corruption movement, Team Anna fast, Hazare fast, Lokpal issue, UPA-II
Decision or even idea of forming a political party by Team Anna will
be a suicidal act. It is not easy to form a political party with
national presence and afford expenses which are required for
contesting general election. And if at all it is decided that Team
Anna form a party they will have to collect donations in hundreds of
crores of rupees and for this they will repeat the same corrupt
practices as other parties are indulged in since long.
Root cause of rising and widespread corruption in India is that
political parties promote corruption for their vested interest, they
give undue benefit to corporate and collect donations in lieu of that.
Similarly service men purchase political support to continue their
evil deeds. As such it is desirable for Team Anna to discard the idea
of forming a party and instead they should seek support of existing
political parties which are assessed by them as better than ruling
party.
Inthe present power failure crisis, Congress govt must look into
restoration of electic supply rather look into Team annas demand.
and if Team anna hazarey dont decide now andcotninue to sit
without any backingn from the non congress parties, the whole
excercise will end in failure to theadvantage of the ruling party.
Yeah, right. The Lokpal Bill is following its Constitutionally
mandated course in the Parliament. Do you expect the whole
Constitutional process to be stepped aside, because you are not
eating food?
We have known all along that Anna and his team are simply gearing up
to be MPs and Ministers... Poor, foolish Indians who fast with them
are in for a rude shock after 2014.
Anna has a record of naming and shaming and publicly punishing
alcoholics in his village, and of having a purely authoritarian rule
there. Democracy would be crushed in his hands to be sure. Luckily,
not every Indian is fooled by them.
The apathy of the government towards the Anti-Corruption movement led by
Anna Hazare is itself an indication that the ruling class is just not
interested in the grievances of the commoners and the public good. I
urge the youth to support the movement in heavy numbers as this is the
time when we can actually speak up for our rights. The Team Anna is
willing to sacrifice their lives for and the least we could do is to
lend our support. The youth of India please support Anna Hazare.
65 years(Time since Independence from British Imperialism) is a long time.we can't allow corrupt ministers and crony capitalists to rule us any longer.we can't allow a group of corrupt ministers to cause a loss of 2 lac crore to the nation.we can't allow them to treat scarce national resources as their personal or ancestral property.Time has come for all of us to demand our birth right of living in a corruption free nation.we need a strong and independent mechanism(Lokpal) to bring these powerful and corrupt people to justice.
Anna Hazare and his team is putting commendable efforts in this direction.Arvind Kejriwal is a modern day Bhagat Singh who has sacrificed his career and is ready to sacrifice his life for the nation.The whole nation should "arise,awake and do not stop till this goal is achieved."Go ahead countrymen,support the movement,victory will be ours.we will be free from the imperialism of corrupt just the way we got freed from imperialism of Britishers.
Team Anna forming a political alternative is a wise decision, remember even Hitler realised that only by entering the German parliament he can change the system and he was very right though his aims were totally different, Annaji get inside parliament, that way it will be easier to throw the donkeys and monkeys through the balcony.
If the Congress government is serious about removing corruption they
should immediately implement an effective Lokpal bill. It is Manmohan
Singh government's tactics to delay implementing Lokpal bill under
the pretext of discussions. They have been using this tactics for
last two years. Anna Hazare's stand is justified.
While the moral fabric of the entire society is going from bad to worse and nothing moves in public or private life with a tip here or a gift there, even the most corrupt tend to agree with the assessment of the mood of the nation that corruption and corrupt practices must be put to an end in this country if the future generation is to be salvaged to become more of humane and upright individuals.
However the drama played out this time is unravelling at a rapid pace and the nation has woken up to the team anna's hidden agenda - assurances not withstanding - to willingly or otherwise create sentiments of anarchy and violent uprising like that of egypt or libya or iraq.
This - at a time when the country is facing possible draught conditions and with terror threat across the border and within is sufficient to lead to rise of dissipative forces that will threaten the very fabric of our multicultural nation.
Freedom of expression is supreme as long as it does not violate law.
We need the powerful Lokpal Bill.I'm fully support Mr.Hazare.we got a powerful leader after Mahathma Gandhi,to fight against corruption.Hereafter politicians should not loot India.
"Bharat Mata Ki Jai".
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