Taking exception to the government's 'comparative' analysis of the two drafts of the Lokpal Bill, Anna Hazare team on Monday asked Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to treat both its versions as the joint drafting committee's outcome enjoying 'equal weightage'.
After a not so pleasant experience of engaging with Anna Hazare's team in drafting of the Lokpal Bill, the government says that there will be no such experiment in the future.
The post of Prime Minister may be brought under the purview of Lokpal with certain riders like holding the enquiry only after the person demits office, notwithstanding the intense face-off between the government and Anna Hazare team.
Can the proposed 11-member Lokpal contest elections after demitting office? This ticklish issue came up at the sixth meeting of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal Bill on June 15, which the Anna Hazare team boycotted.
Anna Hazare has thanked Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for his "commitment" to the passage of the Lokpal Bill in Parliament, while demanding inclusion of recommendations of the select committee in the bill.
Anna expressed apprehension that the Centre may pose obstructions as the legislation provides for probing corruption in Delhi, where the central government offices are located.
Creation of a Telangana state will not only encourage demand for new states but also new districts and this will only weaken the country, social activist and anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare said in Azamgarh on Thursday.
'I was not really aware that this movement was slyly being propped up by the BJP and RSS.'
"The core committee meeting has been postponed due to Annaji's ill health. The date of next meeting will be announced after 4-5 days," Hazare's aide Suresh Pathare said.
Prominent Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal admitted to a group of journalists on Wednesday that they too have made many mistakes during the course of Anna Hazare-led anti-corruption movement.
Reflecting a thaw in their relations with Anna Hazare, a team of Aam Aadmi Party on Thursday called on the Gandhian whose indefinite fast entered its third day and vowed to continue lending support to his fight for an effective Jan Lokpal.
Virtually snubbing Arvind Kejriwal, yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday disapproved of the Team Anna member's comments against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other politicians during his fast along with Anna Hazare, saying he was against personal criticism.
In an interview with CNN-IBN, the Trinamool Congress chief explains why she decided to team up with activist Anna Hazare and alleges that the Left Front, the BJP and the Congress have an 'understanding' in Bengal.
The social activist said that his team will begin a new movement beginning around New Year.
The United Progressive Alliance government and Team Anna Hazare are finding it tough to walk a middle path on the proposed Lokpal Bill draft. Suggest five ways to resolve the stand-off
Jagjit Singh Dallewal, a 70-year-old Punjab farmer leader, is on his 21st day of a hunger strike demanding the Indian government address farmers' concerns, including a legal guarantee of MSP on crops. His health has deteriorated, and doctors have recommended immediate hospitalization. However, Dallewal, a cancer patient, has refused medical treatment.
Why did Yogendra Yadav, the well-respected psephologist and astute political thinker, join Arvind Kejriwal's political movement? In this exclusive interview with NDTV Editor Sreenivasan Jain, Dr Yadav spells out his reasons. Reproduced with kind courtesy NDTV Profit.
Softening his stand on the Lokpal issue, Anna Hazare on Saturday suggested moving ahead with the amended Bill presented in the Rajya Sabha and said improvements in the legislation could be brought through amendments later.
The Election Commission has virtually disfavoured Team Anna's electoral reform proposals saying its demand for 'Right to Recall' will bring instability while 'Right to Reject' will lead to more frequent elections.
Team Anna on Monday rejected government's proposal of excluding lower bureaucracy from Lokpal's ambit, saying they must be covered to fight graft like alleged swindling by Group C employees of over Rs 30,000 crore worth of ration annually meant for poor.
Anna Hazare is not allowed to take any decisions or lead the anti-corruption movement as some members of his core team "control" and "exploit" him, his former blogger Raju Parulekar has alleged.
Sharing Anna Hazare's platform, Opposition parties on Sunday backed his demands for inclusion of prime minister and lower bureaucracy under the ambit of Lokpal but some counselled Team Anna to be flexible and not expect every point raised by it to be accepted.
A better option will be a nation-wide campaign by Team Anna to convert what has remained an elitist middle class movement into a mass movement of the people based on three slogans: "Say No To Bribe", "Bring in Jan Lokpal" and "Free the CBI From Govt Clutches", notes B Raman.
The Hazare movement and media have focussed on corruption of the 'spectacular' variety. But what has escaped the discussion is the institutionalised corruption in-built in the conduct and practice of professions ike the medical profession in India, says Dr Sanjay Nagral.
Activist Anna Hazare will soon write to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, seeking his views on having an annual performance audit of the Members of Parliament.
Warning that a "wave of protest" is building up, Anna Hazare on Monday asked the government to bring a strong Lokpal Bill or quit while his team softened its stand on yoga guru Ramdev whom they attacked on Sunday for sharing dais with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
Anna Hazare, fasting for the last five days for passage of Lokpal Bill, on Saturday said he was happy with the amended legislation presented in the Rajya Sabha and would call off his hunger strike the moment the law is enacted.
Fresh differences appeared in Team Anna with Justice Santosh Hegde on Tuesday distancing himself from corruption allegations against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and other ministers even as the group sought to play down Anna Hazare's reservations on the issue.
As team Anna sat on a hunger strike at Jantar Mantar reiterating their demands, thousands joined them in pledging their support to the cause. Rediff.com's Priyanka mingled with the crowd to get their reactions.
Against the backdrop of indefinite fast by Anna Hazare coming to an end, Law Minister Salman Khurshid has said the government is "much better equipped" now to deal with such situations even as he underlined that the Lokpal will be created before the 2014 elections.
Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Monday advised Swami Agnivesh to file an FIR if he felt that the controversial video in which he purportedly asked someone to act tough with social activist Anna Hazare was fake but the religious leader said his spiritual values did not allow him to do so.
Team Anna Core Committee member Kiran Bedi on Saturday rubbished a media report that claimed she had complained to social activist Anna Hazare that colleague and fellow Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal was not using funds of the Public Cause Research Foundation adequately
Maintaining that they are not campaigning for any party in the Hisar election, Arvind Kejriwal has said team Anna should not be held responsible if their movement in any way benefits the opposition and dismissed as "absurd" talk of Hazare nursing an ambition to become President.
Activist Kiran Bedi on Wednesday sought to suggest that anti-corruption movements like that of Anna Hazare and Ramdev could team up with the Bharatiya Janata Party to form a coalition against corruption.
Justice A P Shah, former chief justice of the Delhi high court, shares his thoughts on the current situation surrounding the Lokpal bill and Team Anna with rediff.com's Toral Varia.
Within the Hazare group, serious differences have cropped up with Justice N Santosh Hegde and Swami Agnivesh wanting him to withdraw the fast, saying it was now counterproductive. But others like Bedi and Kejriwal, who are seen as hardliners with their own agenda, are said to be resisting the move and not allowing the 73-year-old social activist from Maharashtra to break the fast.
Activist Swami Agnivesh on Saturday alleged that Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has siphoned off over Rs 80 lakh, donated by people for Anna Hazare's agitation, by diverting it to a trust run by him.
Seeking a coalition against corruption, activist Kiran Bedi on Sunday shared dais with Ramdev though Anna Hazare and other erstwhile Team Anna members kept away from the yoga guru's protest on black money and Lokpal.
'It is so mired in internal conflicts that no one knows who is making decisions. Pranab Mukherjee? The prime minister? Or someone else?' Arvind Kejriwal breaks his silence on Team Hazare's negotiations with the government in an exclusive interview with Sheela Bhatt.
'It is so mired in internal conflicts that no one knows who is making decisions. Pranab Mukherjee? The prime minister? Or someone else?' Arvind Kejriwal breaks his silence on Team Hazare's negotiations with the government in an exclusive interview with Sheela Bhatt.
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