Anna Hazare supporters visit govt offices with flowers

Call it Annagiri or Gandhigiri. Government officials in the coal town of Jharkhand are being offered roses and white caps by activists of Anna Hazare-led India Against Corruption with a request to help weed out corruption.

"Gandhi caps superscribed with 'I am Anna' and bunch of roses are being handed over to each officer with a request to help in remove the vice of corruption in his own way in the interest of the common man," IAC district coordinator Vijay Jha said.

He said IAC Dhanbad unit members are making rounds of various departments -- commercial tax department including joint commissioner and deputy commissioner of sales tax, district transport office, offices of assistant registrar, BDO and circle officer almost every day.

"Call it Gandhigiri or Annagiri. We believe in this method. In our memorandum to officers we also call for putting up the maximum time in office in addition to stipulated hours for completion of any pending work.

"We call for full implementation of the 'Right to Service Act' passed by the Jharkhand Assembly recently," the social activist said.

IAC activist Shashi Nath Tiwari said most government officials promised to bring in transparency in office work.

"We welcome their gesture, we appreciate their move. It is not bad if the government officials sit up and take notice about their responsibility. I find nothing repulsive in being politely offered flowers and 'Anna Topi," said a senior official of the income tax department.