Social activist Anna Hazare has criticised Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha for allegedly leaving the Aam Aadmi Party and joining the Bharatiya Janata Party, stating that such political switching for personal interests goes against constitutional values.
His former blogger, Raju Parulekar on Tuesday said youth from various parts of the country will hold a three-day protest at Jantar Mantar from December 10 against Hazare and his supporters.
Launched in 2024, the TVK has Vijay's shift into politics was not sudden as he had been doing groundwork since 2009, when he launched his fan club, the Vijay Makkal Iyakkam.
Set to begin his fast for a strong Lokpal in Mumbai on Tuesday, Anna Hazare on Monday said the repeated volte-face by the government over the issue had forced him to fast again
With members of his team facing several controversies, Anna Hazare on Monday said he plans to restructure his core committee to also give representation to religious minorities, tribals, Dalits and youths to strengthen the campaign against corruption. Hazare also hit out at the United Progressive Alliance government for targeting key members of his team, alleging that those who are threatened by the Lokpal movement are attacking his supporters.
A day after eminent lawyer Prashant Bhushan was assaulted, activists of right wing group Sri Ram Sene beat up Anna Hazare's supporters, including an elderly man who was punched and kicked in the face by a youth, outside the Patiala House courts.
Anna Hazare said, "What I am seeing on the television makes me sad. I have been fighting for the last 40 years, Kejriwal also came along with me. Ousted Aam Aadmi Party leader Kapil Mishra's allegations against Kejriwal are really saddening."
Actor Vijay's journey from a shy film star to a political leader is explored, highlighting his unconventional methods and the key moments that shaped his transformation.
Anna Hazare on Tuesday faced a low turnout as he launched his three-day fast against a "weak" Lokpal Bill asking people to be ready for an 'aar paar ki ladai' (fight to finish) to stamp out corruption and ensure that "goondas" do not enter Parliament.
Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare, who left Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee red-faced two days back, said that he had skipped the poorly attended rally because he was misled.
'Vijay entered politics at a much better age compared to Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan. His fans are young and he has at least 2-3 decades ahead of him.'
'The entire party is centred around one man and that is Arvind Kejriwal.' 'Till the time you are in Kejriwal's good books you are powerful. The day you are not with him, you are no one in the party.'
He said though there was a "ray of hope", certain issues he had flagged remained unresolved.
Hazare in a statement accused Kejriwal of betraying the trust of crores of countrymen and rued that political ambitions destroyed the 2011 anti-corruption movement.
With the political class ranged against them, the civic representatives of the panel drafting the Lokpal bill face an uphill battle. Sheela Bhatt reports from New Delhi.
In a bid to project a non-partisan face, Anna Hazare and his team on Sunday shot off a series of letters to leaders, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari, trying to put them on the mat on the Lokpal issue ahead of Assembly polls in five states.
Human Resources and Develeopment Minister Kapil Sibal was on Tuesday greeted with protests from Anna Hazare supporters at a seminar on Lokpal in New Delhi, hours after the arrest of the Gandhian.
Veteran Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar, in his latest book, argues that Pranab Mukherjee should have been made Prime Minister in 2012 instead of Manmohan Singh, who was then recovering from health issues. Aiyar believes this would have prevented the "paralysis of governance" and "doomed" any prospects the Congress might have had to form UPA-III. He also criticizes the government's handling of the Anna Hazare-led agitation and the Commonwealth Games scandal, which he believes contributed to the party's downfall in the 2014 general elections.
Bharatiya Janta Party President Nitin Gadkari on Friday claimed that the Congress would have dealt with Anna Hazare's fast at Ramlila Maidan the same way it dealt with Baba Ramdev's fast, had the main opposition party not declared support to Hazare.
The Delhi Police finds itself in a piquant situation after allowing Team Anna Hazare's India Against Corruption to fast for a strong Lokpal Bill upto September 2 at the Ramleela grounds. The place has been booked by another organisation for a rally on September 1.
In a stepped-up attack on Anna Hazare and the Bharatiya Janata Party-Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Congress on Monday dubbed the Gandhian as an "unelected dictator" who is reading the script of forces attempting to destabilise the country".
Stepping up pressure ahead of the indefinite fast from Wednesday, Anna Hazare on Tuesday issued a new threat of a 'jail bharo' agitation if the government does not concede to their demands in three-four days.
The United Progressive Alliance government had faced criticism from all quarters over the detention of Anna Hazare hours before the activist was scheduled to go on an indefinite fast.
Adopting a tough posture, team Anna Hazare on Wednesday asked a Parliamentary panel to recommend to the government to withdraw the Lokpal Bill and come out with a fresh measure that deals with problem of corruption faced by the public.
Team Anna Hazare on Tuesday rallied behind its key member Kiran Bedi who is facing a breach of privilege notice in Parliament for her controversial remarks against members of Parliament, warning such move will be perceived by people as lawmakers' way to seek revenge on them.
Social activist Anna Hazare on Thursday appealed to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to enact a law empowering gram sabhas in taking decisions regarding village land.
Having plumped for electoral politics, Team Anna may soon face the acid test on whether to contest the upcoming assembly elections in Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.
Lashing out at the government for criticising civil society activists, Gandhian Anna Hazare on Saturday vowed to continue with the proposed August 16 agitation despite "threats" to "crush" it, saying he was willing "to face bullets and not just lathis.
Medha Patkar, a member of Team Anna, on Friday said there was a need for "overhauling" the group as it was facing a number of allegations and many members of the core committee were being targeted. At the same time, Patkar said she will not be attending Saturday's core committee meeting, which Anna Hazare and Justice Santosh Hegde have also decided to skip. "I don't think there is a difference of opinion," she said.
Faced with stiff opposition on the land bill, the government on Thursday reached out to leaders of opposition parties, including Sonia Gandhi, and activist Anna Hazare inviting them to an open debate on the issue while asserting that the bill was "very much in farmers' interest".
Not a single lawmaker met the anti-corruption crusader during his visit to Capitol Hill, reports Aziz Haniffa
Eight-year-old Ikrah and five-year-old Simran took centrestage at the Ramlila Maidan on Sunday when they gave a glass of tender coconut water to Anna Hazare for ending his fast on the Lokpal issue after 12 days.
Anna Hazare on Saturday denounced as an attempt to "blacken democracy" the incident in which Swami Ramdev's face was smeared with ink and said such attacks will not deter "people's movements". "This is not an attempt to blacken the face of Swami Ramdev. This is an attempt to blacken democracy," Hazare said in a statement from his village where he is convalescing after a bout of bronchitis.
Alleging that crores of rupees are being spent to jeopardise the Jan Lokpal bill, Anna Hazare on Thursday said the activists will not lose sight of their goal and will not reply to continuous innuendos made by those seeking "cheap publicity".
Member of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill, N Santosh Hegde, on Friday strongly disapproved of Anna Hazare's insistence on "having his way" in Parliament and sought to make out a case for ending his fast even while continuing the anti-corruption fight.
Member of the joint drafting committee on Lokpal bill, N Santosh Hegde, on Friday strongly disapproved of Anna Hazare's insistence on "having his way" in Parliament and sought to make out a case for ending his fast even while continuing the anti-corruption fight.
'He didn't implement good policies for good politics.' 'He never worked on comprehensive policy-making.' 'In Kejriwal's own constituency youths are jobless.'
'It is up to the voters to decide whom to vote for," Hazare said, adding, "we will tell them about the status of the cases pending against a candidate.'
Veteran activist Anna Hazare on Monday night defended his key associate Kiran Bedi from the allegations of "air travel corruption", pointing fingers at a "gang of four" in the ruling party being behind the campaign against his team.
Hazare also said it seems the new policy will encourage liquor sale and consumption and spur corruption.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances