Team fasts, furious Anna gives ‘outside’ support
26 July 2012 2:12 AM GMT
Team Anna, with Anna Hazare sitting at the dais but not fasting, started its indefinite hunger strike, calling it 'Do or Die Protest', on Wednesday at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi. The team targeted the central government on the Lokpal Bill and repeated its earlier charges of corruption against President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and 14 union ministers and demanded SIT probe against them.
The photographs of these 15 leaders created the backdrop of the stage. Later Team Anna covered the photograph of Mukherjee with a piece of cloth, saying that the Congress has 'put a veil' to protect the former finance minister by making him the president of the country, as a serving president cannot be investigated under existing laws in the country.
Hazare blamed the government of going back on its promises made to the anti-corruption movement earlier. He said that even though the prime minister had agreed on the three demands – bringing in a citizen's charter and Lokayuktas and covering lower bureaucracy under anti-corruption watchdog – the government did not keep its promises.
Team Anna appeared in full strength on Day 1, with Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi, Gopal Rai, Manish Sisodiya, Kumar Vishwas, Sanjay Singh and others taking the centre stage. Kejriwal sat on fast with Sisodiya and Rai. He targeted Mukherjee, saying, 'He could not have become the president had the Lokpal Bill been passed earlier.' He and other members of the team criticised the government for summarily dismissing their charges of corruption against union ministers.
With an impressive turnout at the protest venue cheering the mood, speaker after speaker expressed dissatisfaction with the present form of the Lokpal the government has proposed in Parliament. They said that the government has been cheating them as well as people of the country on this issue.
Later in the evening, Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan explained the nature of corruption charges against two present and one past union minister, the prime minister and the new president against whom they demanded setting up a special investigation team. The ministers included the home minister P Chidambaram, the HRD and telecom minister Kapil Sibal and Virbhadra Singh, who had to resign due to corruption charges.
The photographs of these 15 leaders created the backdrop of the stage. Later Team Anna covered the photograph of Mukherjee with a piece of cloth, saying that the Congress has 'put a veil' to protect the former finance minister by making him the president of the country, as a serving president cannot be investigated under existing laws in the country.
Hazare blamed the government of going back on its promises made to the anti-corruption movement earlier. He said that even though the prime minister had agreed on the three demands – bringing in a citizen's charter and Lokayuktas and covering lower bureaucracy under anti-corruption watchdog – the government did not keep its promises.
Team Anna appeared in full strength on Day 1, with Arvind Kejriwal, Shanti Bhushan, Prashant Bhushan, Kiran Bedi, Gopal Rai, Manish Sisodiya, Kumar Vishwas, Sanjay Singh and others taking the centre stage. Kejriwal sat on fast with Sisodiya and Rai. He targeted Mukherjee, saying, 'He could not have become the president had the Lokpal Bill been passed earlier.' He and other members of the team criticised the government for summarily dismissing their charges of corruption against union ministers.
With an impressive turnout at the protest venue cheering the mood, speaker after speaker expressed dissatisfaction with the present form of the Lokpal the government has proposed in Parliament. They said that the government has been cheating them as well as people of the country on this issue.
Later in the evening, Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan explained the nature of corruption charges against two present and one past union minister, the prime minister and the new president against whom they demanded setting up a special investigation team. The ministers included the home minister P Chidambaram, the HRD and telecom minister Kapil Sibal and Virbhadra Singh, who had to resign due to corruption charges.
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