Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Wednesday ruled out his joining politics or his movement taking a political turn.
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.
Kanugolu had also made forays in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh following a directive from the party's central leadership but regional satraps Ashok Gehlot and Kamal Nath reportedly were not on the same page as the poll strategist.
A poor crowd on a weekend at Team Anna's indefinite fast on Saturday did not deter Anna Hazare to threaten a fast-unto-death from Sunday on the Lokpal issue and talk about a political alternative in the 2014 elections.
Interestingly, his sister Priyanka Gandhi-Vadra was present in the Speaker's gallery to watch her brother speak on the issue of corruption and Hazare's agitation. Priyanka has just returned from New York where their mother Sonia Gandhi is recuperating after surgery.
Politicians, legislators and bureaucrats from Maharashtra played a major role in facilitating talks between Team Anna and the government, reports Toral Varia
As droves of people flocked to Ramlila Maidan to voice their support for Anna Hazare, lack of water and sanitation facilities at the venue tested the resolve of quite a few supporters.
'We are confused because the UPA government has cheated us. The question before us is, should we request the people to not vote for the UPA or should we not? Shall we not hit the streets again at all? There are many options before us. Each option has many implications for our movement,' Arvind Kejriwal confesses to Sheela Bhatt.
Former army chief V K Singh has said he supports the issues raised by Anna Hazare and Ramdev but has not yet decided on joining the anti-graft activists.
Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Sunday said the Lokpal, if made a law, will create fear among wrongdoers like the way the "chopping of hands of thieves" does in UAE. Addressing protesters at the fast venue of Anna Hazare and yoga guru Ramdev, Bedi also asked people not to vote for those politicians who are opposed to Lokpal in the next elections.
Rediff.com reporters spoke to employees of the lower bureaucracy to know what they think of all the commotion surrounding their inclusion in the Lokpal bill.
As Parliamentary Standing Committee went back on some of its recommendations on Lokpal Bill, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Thursday night slammed it as an effort to make the ombdusman an "enquiry-pal" and said it confirms her remarks that politicians wear several masks.
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal alleged on Monday that the Union government's decision to allow foreign direct investment in the retail sector is linked to corruption.
Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Wednesday asked as to what was stopping ruling Congress from declaring its resolve to create an effective Lokpal through a special session of Parliament or an ordinance in case Parliament by any chance is stalled.
Arvind Kejriwal, who has alleged that phones of Team Anna members are being tapped, on Sunday demanded that the government answer whether it considered them as a threat to national security.
Taking on a section of political class that questioned the need for civil society to contribute in law making, Team Anna member N Santosh Hegde on Friday sought annual auditing of Parliamentarians to assess their performance.
In an interview with rediff.com's Sahim Salim social activist Medha Patkar said that Team Anna expected a deadlock between the Congress and BJP when the BJP took a stance on the matter.
Team Anna member and former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice (retd) N Santosh Hegde on Tuesday appealed to Anna Hazare to end his eight-day fast, saying everyone is "honestly" concerned about his health.
Decrying the failure of Rajya Sabha to pass the Lokpal bill, Anna Hazare on Thursday made a curious suggestion to bring a law to empower gram sabhas that will be above Parliament.
The Delhi police is understood to have sought two more days to take a decision on giving permission to social activist Anna Hazare to organise his indefinite fast against Lokpal Bill in New Delhi even as his team has secured a no-objection certificate from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to hold the protest at Ramlila Maidan.
Accusing the government of cheating people on the Lokpal issue, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Sunday claimed that it was not willing to part with control over the Central Bureau of Investigation, as it did not want the "hidden files in the agency's almirahs" to become public.
With Team Anna members coming under attack, Anna Hazare on Sunday said the core committee will be expanded but a "sharp eye" will be kept on new members so that people with only clean background are part of the movement.
Ninety-four-year-old Gandhian Shambhu Dutt, who ended his fast-unto-death demanding Lokpal bill after Team Anna's promise to shoulder the campaign, says he now regrets his decision to hand over his fight to Anna Hazare and his core committee of "yes men".
Even as the media continued to dig the dirt on members of Team Anna (with a little help from politicians and political parties) Congress chief Sonia Gandhi in her reply to Anna Hazare has assured him that she does not 'support or encourage the politics of smear campaigns.'
Sania Mirza and her Kazakh partner Anna Danilina, seeded eighth, lost to Belgium's Alison Van Uytvanck and Ukraine's Anhelina Kalinina in a clash lasting little over two hours.
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.
'A system that is judge, jury, and executioner, with draconian and apparently ill-defined powers and a haphazard system of oversight is not necessarily a better denouement, even if the current situation is untenable,' says Ram Kelkar.
The Anna Hazare movement, which has not only gripped the nation, has also caught the fancy of the average foreign tourist.
Questioning Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's honesty, the Anna Hazare team has raised its pitch on the Lokpal Bill demanding that its version be placed before Parliament, saying that the "weak" government draft was a "joke" played on the nation.
Rejecting contention that Lokpal proposed by it was aimed at creating a 'parallel' government, veteran social activist Anna Hazare on Wednesday said he will undertake fast-unto-death from August 16 and would not be go back on his decision even if the government makes any request.
Gautami Bhanot and Abhinav Shaw combined well to claim the gold medal in the 10m air rifle mixed team event at the ISSF Junior World Cup.
Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on dismissed suggestions of a rift with the Anna Hazare-led team and said he has asked his supporters to join the day-long fast by the social activist and his aides in New Delhi on Wednesday.
2019 was the Bharatiya Janata Party's breakout year, when it stretched the boundaries of what was thought possible and ended up with 303 seats on its own steam. Now it is forced to play defence, on a pitch queered by too many variables, asserts Prem Panicker.
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.
Narvekar, who polled 164 votes, defeated Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena candidate Rajan Salvi who got 107 votes.
'A defeat in the Hisar by-election would not make any difference to the numbers in the Lok Sabha for the simple reason that the Congress had not won that seat in 2009 anyhow. But alienating the Trinamool Congress (19 Lok Sabha MPs), the DMK (18 Lok Sabha MPs), and the Nationalist Congress Party (nine Lok Sabha MPs in addition to all the MLAs in Maharashtra) is another story. Those 46 MPs are crucial to the survival of the Manmohan Singh ministry.'
Days before the July 25 indefinite hunger strike at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, Team Anna is in full swing, 'preparing' the local populace. The team members have clearly stated that they have no choice but to go ahead with a 'do or die' campaign, to press for a strong Jan Lokpal Bill. Priyanka reports from New Delhi.
Team Anna member N Santosh Hegde on Sunday saluted Parliament for rising to the occasion and giving its nod to key elements of Jan Lokpal Bill, but cautioned that people should "not expect a miracle" as enacting the legislation will "take its own time".
The favourable apex court was a result of the 'divinity' of party stalwarts, the late Chief Ministers M G Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa, he said at a mass wedding ceremony in Madurai.
Criticising Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for organising a 'janta darbar' which ended in chaos on Saturday, former Team Anna member Kiran Bedi took a jibe at him over the lack of "mature" governance and said such meetings do not happen on the streets or the rooftops.
