Swami Agnivesh, a close associate of Anna Hazare, was the target of the core Anna team which attacked him over a controversial video posted on Youtube where he is purportedly telling a person alleged to be a Union minister that government act tough with the fasting Gandhian.
Two days ahead of Anna Hazare's fast for a strong Lokpal Bill, his team today stepped up attack on government questioning the "credibility" of the Standing Committee report on the issue saying it has only the support of 12 members.
It seems as if the movement against corruption is in disarray. The volleys fired against some of its key members by the Congress and its supporters appear to be taking its toll, says Seema Mustafa.
In the whole sordid series of happenings after Anna Hazare broke his fast, the only side to emerge with credit is the government. In fact, it is outshining the civil society, says B S Raghavan.
Team Anna met in Noida on Monday amid a rift between them and yoga guru over the treatment meted out to Arvind Kejriwal in public and differences within them over attacking Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
As social activist Anna Hazare's fast entered the 10th day on Thursday, his team accused "some strong elements" in the government of nullifying the entire dialogue process and said they have become victims of Congress' "internal politics".
Talks between government and Team Anna Hazare ended in a deadlock on Wednesday tonight with the two sides failing to resolve the key issues, prompting the civil society to declare that they were "back to square one".
The All India Congress Committee and Digvijay Singh again appeared to be not on the same page -- this time on the issue of seeking cooperation from Team Anna over exposing some of the dealings of two Gujarat businessmen allegedly close to the Ruling Bharatiya Janata Party in the state.
Lashing out at Abhishek Singhvi on the draft Lokpal Bill, Team Anna on Wednesday accused the Congress leader of disrespecting Parliament by going against its commitment of including lower bureaucracy and Citizens' Charter in the ambit of the ombudsman.
Asserting that she will fight for the passage of the Lokpal bill in Parliament, a combative Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday hit out at the Opposition for "obstructionist" tactics and Team Anna for "deliberate and malicious" criticism of the government.
Prithvi Shaw created a national record in Mumbai's Vijay Hazare triumph, ending with 827 runs in the tournament.
Sharp differences broke out among Team Anna, the government and the Opposition on Friday over the wording of the resolution for the debate in both Houses of Parliament on various drafts of the Lokpal Bill
The Anna Hazare team on Wednesday met Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Prakash Karat in New Delhi to explain the civil society's position on the Lokpal Bill ahead of the all party meeting on the issue.
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.
Stating that the government is shocked at the comments made by veteran social activist Anna Hazare's team, Union Human Resource and Development Minister Kapil Sibal on Monday said steps as these would only slow down the drafting process of the Lokpal bill.
For the first time, Team Anna will have a new mascot in its posters with Arvind Kejriwal's images being used in campaign material seeking support for its indefinite fast from July 25.
Virat Kohli's participation in the fourth and deciding Test match against Australia, in Dharamsala, hangs in balance even as young Mumbai batsman Shreyas Iyer has been included in the team.
With Team Anna asking people not to back their party in Hisar Lok Sabha bypolls, chief ministers of three Congress-ruled states and senior leaders on Monday hit back at the Jan Lokpal Bill champions, dubbing them as agents of Opposition "trying to grind their own axe in the guise of fighting graft".
Former Law Minister Shanti Bhushan is the only prominent Team Anna member who has donated to the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare, shelling out Rs 4 lakh, in the past six months.
Intense bidding is expected to be the order of the day when 10 teams jostle to grab their preferred players in the IPL players' auction in Kochi on Friday.
Activist Medha Patkar, who is part of Anna Hazare's core group, said in spite of talking about the broad issue, the Congress general secretary should have deliberated on the immediate issues raised by the Gandhian, whose fast for a strong Lokpal continued for the 11th day.
Skipper Suryakumar Yadav overshadowed young Shreyas Iyer, who struck his maiden first-class ton, with a 45-ball unbeaten 81 as the duo guided Mumbai to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over Gujarat in the West Zone match of the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Ahmedabad, on Friday.
While former Delhi skipper Mithun Manhas will be the chief coach, Klusener's appointment is certainly the most high profile among the support staff across domestic teams.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is waiting for his Test debut, is confident that he can bat at any position as and when he gets an opportunity in the five-day format of the game.
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.
The Bermuda Cricket Board has roped in Saurashtra's Niraj Odedra as the national team's head coach on a short term basis with an eye on qualification for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and United States.
Hazare has served an ultimatum that he will wait for the government to take a decision on their demands in the next four days or else he will join his colleagues on fast from Sunday
Team Anna's core committee met in Monday at Ghaziabad amidst suggestions that the anti-corruption movement should not target a single political party in the future.
Condemning the recent assaults on civil society activists and stating that Anna Hazare's movement had served its purpose, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday assured that a bill for a strong Lokpal would soon be cleared.
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.
Questions were raised on Sunday about the use of funds donated by the public to Team Anna with Swami Agnivesh alleging that money was deposited in the trust run by Arvind Kejriwal from which the names of major team members were missing, a claim dismissed as made "out of anger".
Thanks to half-centuries by Ankit Bawne and Rahul Tripathi, and a splendid final over by Dominic Joseph, Maharashtra beat Saurashtra by four runs in the West Zone Vijay Hazare one-day tournament in Rajkot on Friday.
A red-hot Bengal will have a chance to win their first Ranji Trophy title in 33 years when they face Saurashtra, bolstered by the return of pacer and domestic game heavyweight Jaydev Unadkat, in the summit clash in Kolkata from Thursday.
Close on the heels of activist Anna Hazare threatening another round of agitation about the Lokpal Bill, the government, Team Anna and opposition parties Bharatiya Janata Party and Communist Party of India Marxist on Saturday said they were ready for an open dialogue on a strong anti-corruption bill. "The doors are open and we have never shut it. Rather, it was Team Anna which had slammed the door on us," Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid said.
Raking up the issue of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-Team Anna "nexus", Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Friday alleged that Mohan Bhagwat, Anna Hazare and Govindacharya are "contradicting" one another over the issue.
Yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday came under attack from Team Anna as he shared the stage with Chief Minister Narendra Modi in Ahmedabad and said he found no basis for allegations of corruption in Gujarat.
In the most candid admission of Team Anna's political ambitions, Arvind Kejriwal has said a non-Congress, non-Bharatiya Janata Party people's front will be put up in the 2014 polls, which will be backed by Anna Hazare and his team.
High drama was witnessed at the Team Anna core committee meeting in Noida on Sunday with the group expelling one of its members Mufti Shameem Kazmi for allegedly recording its proceedings even as he claimed that he quit the movement as it was turning anti-Muslim.
Anna Hazare's team on Tuesday described Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's sadhavana fast as one held for his "personal political gain". The anti-corruption activist's aides also said the country does not need more yatras and fasts but effective steps to fight corruption, including the Jan Lokpal bill, for which they were fighting. Prominent lawyer Prashant Bhushan said, "It was done for personal political gain."
Team Anna on Tuesday appeared set to oppose the United Progressive Alliance in the next Lok Sabha elections saying its mission is to ensure that "new and apt people" come to power in the 2014 polls. It also attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party alleging that it supported the team earlier with a political motive.
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