Anna dares PMO to prove foreign hand
13 Jun 2012 8:15 AM GMT
The social activist Anna Hazare said on Tuesday that all allegations against him and his team are baseless and false and he was disappointed with the statements made by the minister of state in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V Narayanasamy.
In response to the minister's allegations against the Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, Hazare dared the government to act against him if he and his team members were anti-nationals. 'Punish me if I'm guilty,' he told reporters.
'We are not backed by any foreign hand. All allegations against us from the PMO are false and baseless. This is just a trick to divert attention from the Lokpal bill,' he said.
'Narayanasamy said Anna lacked the will to fight corruption. He says we are anti-nationals. But, I'm already fighting corruption tooth and nail. What more does he want me to do? This is not right,' he said.
At the same time, Hazare asked the central government to show the proof of foreign-funding for the movement. 'The PMO should reveal which foreign hand is behind me. Such baseless statement is not expected from the PMO,' he said.
'I have been accused of not giving an account of the money which was collected at Ramlila Maidan,' he said. 'This is completely wrong. Account of every penny is there for everyone to see. We are in the clear. We have posted it online. We have even got the accounts audited. What more do they want,' he said. Hazare, in turn, demanded that the government and various political parties give account of the money they collected.
Hazare said the government should make public the status of investigations against each of the 14 ministers who were accused of corruption and said there was sufficient evidence against them.
In response to the minister's allegations against the Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, Hazare dared the government to act against him if he and his team members were anti-nationals. 'Punish me if I'm guilty,' he told reporters.
'We are not backed by any foreign hand. All allegations against us from the PMO are false and baseless. This is just a trick to divert attention from the Lokpal bill,' he said.
'Narayanasamy said Anna lacked the will to fight corruption. He says we are anti-nationals. But, I'm already fighting corruption tooth and nail. What more does he want me to do? This is not right,' he said.
At the same time, Hazare asked the central government to show the proof of foreign-funding for the movement. 'The PMO should reveal which foreign hand is behind me. Such baseless statement is not expected from the PMO,' he said.
'I have been accused of not giving an account of the money which was collected at Ramlila Maidan,' he said. 'This is completely wrong. Account of every penny is there for everyone to see. We are in the clear. We have posted it online. We have even got the accounts audited. What more do they want,' he said. Hazare, in turn, demanded that the government and various political parties give account of the money they collected.
Hazare said the government should make public the status of investigations against each of the 14 ministers who were accused of corruption and said there was sufficient evidence against them.
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