In a bid to rejuvenate his movement, Anna Hazare on Friday decided to expand his core team by inviting prominent citizens like former Army chief Gen V K Singh besides considering formation of anti-corruption centres at district level.
Kejriwal spoke exclusively to rediff.com's Sheela Bhatt and was making his final position clear. Before the third round of agitation against corruption begins in the last week of December read the logic and passion behind it in this the first of a two-part series.
Disappointed over the draft report of the Standing Committee on Lokpal Bill, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi has warned that going back on the commitment given by Parliament would encourage a mass movement again. When asked for her comments on the draft report which sought to keep lower bureaucracy out of the ambit of the ombudsman, Bedi said, "This is going back on the commitment and will call for mass movement again".
Asserting that the Lokpal cannot completely wipe out corruption which is as old as the civilisation itself, Team Anna member Justice N Santosh Hegde on Monday said that if the menace could be contained up to 60-70 per cent, "we would be very strong".
A Ranchi-Mumbai Jetlite flight with 125-odd passengers including Team Anna member Kiran Bedi aboard made an emergency landing at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport in Nagpur within 45 minutes of its take-off due to a technical snag on Sunday morning.
Hitting out at Arvind Kejriwal for his remarks over the inflated travel bills issue involving her, Kiran Bedi on Saturday said he would not have made such a comment if he had comprehended the issue fully. "The only problem is that he didn't understand the issue fully. If he had more understanding of the issue, then his answer would have been different," Bedi said. Kejriwal had disapproved of his Team Anna colleague overcharging her hosts by inflating travel bills.
With Congress praising Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for rebuffing Team Anna on the state Lokayukta Bill, lawyer Shanti Bhushan on Friday wondered whether there was a deal between him and the ruling party at the Centre.
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The income tax department has sent notices to the two NGOs run by Team Anna member Kiran Bedi to find out whether they are engaged in commercial activities.
Team Anna member Justice Santosh Hegde on Friday said it will be a "misconduct" if activist Kiran Bedi had not taken the permission of organisers of events for transferring the difference in money on air tickets to her non-governnment organisation.
Hitting out at former colleague Kiran Bedi, activist Swami Agnivesh on Thursday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into allegations that she misused benefits of her gallantry award to earn money for her non-government organisation and asked her to stop giving lectures on corruption till her name is cleared.
Senior lawyer and Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan was on Wednesday roughened up by two men in his chambers inside the Supreme Court.
The Congress on Monday downplayed its defeat in Hisar Lok Sabha by-polls saying it had not won the seat even during the last elections and dismissed the contention that the result betrayed the effect of Team Anna's call to people not to vote for its candidate over the Lokpal issue.
Amid the turmoil in Team Anna on the issue, the Congress on Friday condemned Prashant Bhushan's advocacy of plebiscite in Jammu and Kashmir, declaring that the state was an integral part of India and there can be "no second thought" in the matter.
Supreme Court lawyer and Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan was attacked on Wednesday evening for his remarks on Kashmir. Police have identified two right-wing groups behind the incident.
Senior lawyer and Team Anna member Prashant Bhushan was attacked by three youths on Wednesday at around 4.15 pm when he was getting ready for an interview with a TV channel. Bhushan is fighting scores of cases against the United Progressive Alliance, and also the petitioner of the case related to 2G scam.
What Arvind Kejriwal or his other colleagues say finds resonance. It cannot be dampened. Now it has come to pass that people do not have to prove that politicians and politics are dirty; the latter have to prove that they are not, says Mahesh Vijapurkar.
Former Karnataka Lokayukta Justice N Santosh Hegde on Wednesday suggested that corporates and NGOs should also be brought under the purview of the Jan Lokpal bill.
The retired IPS officer and social activist talks about the need for value-based education and just what it is that she wishes young Indians would know.
Advocate and Team Anna's key person Prashant Bhushan, who was served with a breach of privilege motion by the Rajya Sabha secretariat for allegedly making derogatory references to members of Parliament, on Wednesday replied to the notice stating that the notice was "totally unjustified".
With certain political parties launching 'yatras' ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Team Anna member Kiran Bedi has said such yatras have no meaning without the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Saturday said he has received a breach of privilege notice for his remarks against Parliamentarians, the second Team Anna member to get such a notice. Bhushan said he has been accused of using derogatory words against Members of Parliament and has been asked to file a reply. Terming the notice as "totally unjustified", he told PTI that "speaking the truth in public interest does not amount to a breach of privilege".
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal faced some protests on Tuesday as he decided to leave for Goa for campaigning without casting his vote in the Uttar Pradesh polls but in an anti-climax he could not exercise his franchise as his name was missing from the electoral rolls.
With Team Anna stepping up the heat on the corruption issue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday said the government was open to reasoned debate on the Lokpal Bill but made it clear that there was no single solution to tackle the problem.
Justice Santosh Hegde has become a very popular face at the protests against corruption at Freedom Park in Bengaluru.
Justice Santosh Hegde has become a very popular face at the protests against corruption at Freedom Park in Bengaluru.
If only you had thought ahead, you would have stocked snacks and biscuits, bread and cake, and vegetables suited for Amma or pondatti to make your favourite bajji and pakoda, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Team Anna member and former Union Minister Shanti Bhushan has challenged an order of the assistant stamp commissioner whereby he had been held guilty of evading stamp duty to the tune of about Rs 1.35 crore and deposited a sum of Rs 70 lakh with the office of chief controller, revenue authority, for the purpose.
Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi on Friday re-allocated the portfolios held by arrested state Minister V Senthil Balaji, on the recommendations of Chief Minister M K Stalin but "has not agreed" to the minister continuing in the cabinet, the Raj Bhavan said.
'I am sick of hearing the prime minister parrot the 'compulsions of coalition government' line, says Vipin Vijayan. 'I for once hope he says, "This is what I will do. You have a problem, go hang!"'
A Supreme Court vacation bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice MM Sundresh noted that the petition was still pending in the high court and asked the ED to approach that court.
Delhi Police on Friday told a court that it did not find it necessary to record the statements of Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh to ascertain the authenticity of voices on the CD purportedly having their talks with lawyer and Team Anna member Shanti Bhushan.
Law Minister Salman Khurshid on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of not speaking about its problems with Lokpal Bill before the debate on it in Rajya Sabha and sought to know from the party why it did not ask for the legislation to be put to vote with limited discussion.
AIADMK supremo and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday restructured the party's apex body.
He said they will need to strive for excellence while personally upholding high ethical standards and values.
Team Anna member Kiran Bedi on Thursday feared that the Lokpal Bill may go the Women's Reservation Bill's way as those in power are comfortable with status quo.
Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani on Sunday made it clear that though Team Anna has a right to voice its differences on various aspects of Lokpal Bill, the final word lies with Parliament on passing laws.
Last week Sheela Bhatt spoke to Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal about the government's Lokpal bill in the first part of an interview. On Friday, as the parliamentary standing committee submitted its report to Parliament, we bring you the second part of the interview with Kejriwal.
Amid reported rift among Team Anna members, activist Kiran Bedi on Tuesday sought to downplay her differences with colleague Arvind Kejriwal over the issue of overcharging her hosts, saying it was a "thing of past".
A couple of days after a war of words between Team Anna and ruling Janata Dal-United in Bihar over Lokayukta, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday said he did not want to waste his energy on unnecessary debate.
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