Ramdev or not?: Internal battle in Team Anna

An internal Battle is going on in T.Anna on the issue of campaigning with Ramdev. Earlier Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev met on April 20, 2012 and addressed the media about their future co bonded campaign and tour plans.Anna also announced a Joint- fast at Jantar Mantar 3 June . Not a single IAC member was present at the conference in Gurgaon.
 But later it was announced Anna will not tour with Baba Ramdev,  He and Ramdev will share stage wherever they meet during their all-India tour. However, there will be no joint tour and campaign.
This change of decision and some other factors indicates row within Team Anna over campaigning with Baba.
On Sunday, June 3(2012) as announced by Anna on April 20 , Anna and Ramdec shared a stage on Jantar Mantar and sat on a day-long fast.  Fast went successful and now there is a possibility of Anna and Ramdev campaigning together. Yet , no  clear response is obtained from members of Team Anna on the movement’s association with the yoga guru. Earlier Anna was also not in great support of Ramdev , but now Anna is in support of the Anna-Ramdev bond.and believes that the association with yoga guru will create pressure on the government  and there is no harm in attacking the government on the black money issue.

Anna also finds Ramdev’s strategies acceptable. During a twenty minute-long speech at Jantar Mantar on 3 June, Hazare did not name a single political leader as decided by Ramdev.However, many in the team including Arvind Kejriwal do not agree with this view.


However, Team Anna is not as much straight as Anna on issue of associating with Ramdev. Team is divided in pro-Ramdev(supporters) and anti Ramdev (opposers) groups. 

• The anti- Ramdev group argues that allying with Ramdev will do more damage to the movement than good.Those who oppose Ramdev Believes that Ramdev is associated with rss.
• The anti-Ramdev lobby argues that it is fine to hold closed door discussions with Ramdev and extend moral support to him but keep him at arm’s length.
•  In June last year, Ramdev said that there was nepotism in the joint drafting committee of Lokpal bill due to the presence of two members of the Bhushan family. This is another reason why a part of T.Anna dislikes Ramdev

In a core committee meeting at Nodia Kiran Bedi and Prashant Bhushan gave divergent opinions and presented a study in contrast when asked about the association with Ramdev. Bedi said it was is a common cause and these are two sides of the same coin, 
 Bhushan chose his words carefully. “We support Baba Ramdev on the issue which he is undertaking and he supports us on the Lokpal issue. But, the campaign will not be held on a common platform. It was Ramdev who talked about a joint campaign but our team had nothing said anything on it"

BACKGROUND
 Ramdev has been with the movement from the very beginning. On 14 November, 2010, Ramdev and Kejriwal were two of the ten people who signed a petition demanding the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi, then union sports minister. . On 27 February, 2011, Ramdev held a rally in Delhi’s Ramlila ground which was attended by Anna Hazare. But these were events before the launch of Lokpal movement

Source:http://www.firstpost.com/india/to-be-or-not-to-be-with-baba-ramdev-team-anna-stands-divided-337213.html

Centre should move more aggressively on Lokpal: Youth Congress

OVERVIEW  Finally, youth congress has accepted that corruption affects common man and hence it is needed to be tackled by forming lokpal structure in our penal system . 

Youth Congress led by  Rahul Gandhi has underlined the need to tackle the menace "on a priority basis" and wanted Centre to move "more aggressively" on setting up of Lokpal.

The political resolution passed at the three day national executive meet of Youth Congress at Hubli in Karnataka contains following points and demands

•  asked for the setting up of special courts to try only corruption-specific cases.
• Noting that corruption affects the common man most, the resolution said,"it needs to be tackled on a priority basis".

• The resolution recommended "more stringent penal provisions" to punish the corrupt public servants by amending the Prevention of Corruption Act.
• The youth body of Congress has also demanded that the "code of criminal proceedure (CrPC) should be amended in order to ensure speedy disposal of corruption-related cases.
  The political resolution also demanded that "the Central government should move more aggressively on Constitutionally guaranteed Lokpal bill".

BACKGROUND: Rahul Gandhi had last year made a strong pitch in the Lok Sabha for constitutional status to Lokpal.

Source:http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-04/india/32030895_1_corruption-cases-lokpal-prevention-of-corruption-act

Anna asks Sachin to demand a strong Lokpal in Parliament

Sachin Tendulkar, who today (June 4)  took oath as member of the Rajya Sabha earlier today, was on congratulated by Anna Hazare on becoming member of the Rajya Sabha.


Anna also expressed the hope that the batting maestro would raise his voice for a strong Lokpal Bill in Parliament.


"We hail this move. We are glad that young people like him (Sachin), who think about the nation, have made their way to Parliament. We hope, that now, he will raise the voice inside the Parliament, the way we are raising it outside," said Hazare.


 Arvind Kejriwal also urged Tendulkar to demand a strong Lokpal Bill in the Parliament.
"We would request Sachin Tendulkar to press in the Upper House(Rajya Sabha) of Parliament, the need to bring in a strong Ombudsman Bill," said Kejriwal.

Sachin made it clear  he would like to use the opportunity of being a member of the Upper House of Parliament to contribute in a meaningful manner not only for cricket, but also for other sports. 

BackgroundTendulkar, who took his oath in Hindi in the office of Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, is the first active sportsperson and cricketer to have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha under the Prominent Citizens Quota.
He was nominated to the Upper House along with film actress Rekha and industrialist Anu Aga in April, but had to wait to take his oath until the end of IPL season5


Source:http://www.newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/2012/06/04/244-Anna-asks-Sachin-to-pitch-for-strong-Lokpal-in-Parliament.html

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal storms out of fast venue after Ramdev snubs him

 Second report on Anna-ramdev day long fast

 Kejriwal angrily walked out of the fast venue after he was virtually snubbed by Baba Ramdev over his comments against Prime MinisterManmohan Singh and other politicians.

• During his speech, Kejriwal attacked Singh and his Cabinet colleagues whom Team Anna had accused of indulging in corruption and mentioned the names of Mulayam Singh Yadav, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Jayalalithaa and Mayawati. 

• Soon after Kejriwal finished his speech, Ramdev took the microphone and said "today, we thought that we will not take any body's name. But Arvind took the names". 
• "We don't want any controversies. Arvind does not have any enmity with anyone. The names have been taken in some context. We are against personal criticism", Ramdev said. 

Sourcehttp://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Team-Anna-member-Arvind-Kejriwal-storms-out-of-fast-venue-after-Ramdev-snubs-him/articleshow/13776527.cms
And TIMES NOW

Ramdev, Anna hold day-long fast in Delhi

First report

Anna Hazare and yoga guru Ramdev on Sunday (june 3/ 2012) sat on a day-long fast at  Jantar Mantar  protesting against corruption. They Together visited  Mahatma Gandhi's memorial and Shahid Park. The one-day fast demanding bringing back black money stashed abroad and against the corruption and corrupt system is also likely to have its echo in the state capitals as well with Ramdev's BharatSwabhiman Andolan organising protests.This is the first time that Ramdev and Hazare are sitting on a joint fast. From Team Anna, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Manish Sisodia were the prominent members who joined Hazare and Ramdev in the day-long fast. 
Quote:-Their words

• Ramdev began his campaign issuing a warning to the government to get ready for "fight to the finish" by August and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make his Cabinet "corruption free."
• "You (the Prime Minister) are an honest person personally. People respect you for that. But you hold the high constitutional post. You have to take care of the political, constitutional and democratic responsibility.
• "Your personal honesty is not enough. You have to be politically honest too. You have to keep your Cabinet honest. Then people will respect you (more)," Ramdev told his supporters, who were waiving the tricolour.
• Ramdev also invoked the name of Rajiv Gandhi saying when the former prime minister talked about only 15 paise out of a rupee reaching the beneficiaries, it was "ideal" but "when we talk about it, then we are called "khalnayaks (villains)".
• "If the government names the actual investors of FDI, the puzzle with regard to black money will be solved," he said in an apparent reference Foreign Institution Investors (FII), which can allegedly be used by people to stash away black money.Seeking answers to the fall of the rupee and dipping GDP from finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, Ramdev said the Indian economy will be strengthened if the black money was brought back and the youth were given ample employment opportunities.

• Recalling the police crackdown on his supporters last year Ramdev said  it was "Ravan lila" played out at the Ramlila grounds. "Even Mahatma Gandhi had said that India needs its own laws. But we still have British era laws like the one on land acquisition and the Police Act. We need to remove the archaic laws and have swadeshi laws," he said.
• "Whenever we talk of corruption, those in the power and leaders of the ruling party maintain that laws are not made on the streets...We are not against anyone...There is no family feud," he said. 

• Meanwhile Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Harish Rawat told reporters  "They(team Anna and baba Ramdev) have full freedom to voice concern against corruption. But Anna Hazare and Ramdev should understand that in the name of fighting corruption, if they want to destroy the existing institutions, then the country will not accept it...,"

HappeningsThe protest also had its share of drama when a man in his late twenties and claiming to be a 'volunteer' of Team Anna campaign, tried to attempt self-immolation alleging that he was mistreated by prominent members of India Against Corruption.

Support
This joint fast of Anna and Ramdev is getting intense support all over the nation!

Oppose

However, a section of Team Anna have opposed association with Ramdev on the ground that the yoga guru was facing corruption charges.

Source:http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Ramdev-Anna-hold-day-long-fast-in-Delhi/Article1-865234.aspx http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_anna-hazare-ramdev-begin-fast-in-delhi_1697455

Prashant Bhushan calls PM 'Shikhandi', says Congress using him as shield

QUOTE: their words: 
Prashant Bhushan on May 29 (2012) said the PM was like 'Shikhandi' and was being used by Congress as a shield. "The Congress is using the PM as a shield like 'Shikhandi'. They say he is clean, so his Cabinet must be clean. Why is the PM allowing himself to be used like 'Shikhandi' in this manner," he said.

BACKGROUND 
Shikhandi was a character from the epic Mahabharata. Shikhandi was impotent and hence Arjun hid behind Shikhandi, due to which Bhishma couldn't attack Arjun (because to attack him , he would have to Shikhandi kill first and attacking impotent was not considered bravery). In this was Arjun used Shikhandi as his shield and finally fatally attacked Bhishma.


|IF we go by the role of SHIKANDI in Mahabharat then of course our PM,who is considered a clean  and intelligent figure in politics is really used by congress as a shield. Moreover PM is also letting congress use him as shield, so his stand in party is also weak| 

CRITICISM 

As soon as statement from Bhushan came parties like Congress, BJP and RJD criticized it.RJD chief Lalu Prasad defended the PM and criticized Team Anna for indulging in disrespectful comments.
BJP asked Team Anna to exercise control over its language while criticizing the PM, saying use of intemperate words against somebody holding the top post was not acceptable. The party however added that the issues being raised by the activists were important. 
Congress too jumped in to defend Singh. Pointing out that members of Anna Hazare's team were themselves trading charges of irregularities against each other, minister of state V Narayansamy said

Source:http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-05-29/india/31887150_1_team-anna-prashant-bhushan-shikhandi

Team Anna charges 15 UPA ministers with corruption‎

Team Anna on Saturday (May 26, 2012) charged 15 UPA ministers with corruption‎ charges. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and finance minister Pranab Mukherjee for first time in corruption cases. 

In a letter to PM signed by Anna, Kiran Bedi, Shanti Bhushan and Manish Sisodia , Team Anna demanded  the government set up an independent special investigation team by July 24.

Kejriwal said all documents in support of the charges had been submitted to the PM, who has also been asked to order a probe into allegations against Hazare’s aides. The letter has also been signed by Kiran Bedi, Shanti Bhushan and Manish Sisodia. 
Team Anna cited portions of a draft the CAG’s report to bring charges against Singh when coal ministry was with him. They had never made allegations against the Prime Minister before. 

Team Anna also threatened that it would begin an indefinite fast from the next day if the government failed to meet the deadline set of initiating the probe. 

“We will now wait till July 24 to see what the government does. What we have demanded is only an independent probe into the allegations,” said Hazare associate Arvind Kejriwal.

However,Congress party dismissed team Anna’s charges, saying such unsubstantiated allegations did not deserve a response.

External affairs minister SM Krishna has already confirmed that he will file a defamation suit against team Anna. Team Anna said it was prepared to face any legal action the government and ruling party might want to take.

Names in charge sheet 

Manmohan Singh, Pranab Mukherjee ,SM Krishna,  P Chidambaram, Sharad Pawar, Kamal Nath, Praful Patel, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Virbhadra Singh, Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid, GK Vasan, Farooq Abdullah, M Alagiri and Sushil Kumar S.

Source:http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Team-Anna-calls-PM-Pranab-13-other-ministers-corrupt/Article1-861594.aspx