New Delhi:
"I do not support or encourage politics of smear campaign," Sonia Gandhi has written to Anna Hazare.
(Read: Sonia Gandhi's letter to Anna Hazare)The Congress Party President's letter is in response to Mr Hazare's note on Monday where he said, "Corrupt forces in the country appear to have united to derail the process of drafting an anti-corruption law through the joint committee."
Mr Hazare on his part says he's satisfied with Sonia Gandhi's reply. "Sonia Gandhi has written to me. I was happy to read her letter. Sonia Gandhi has written in her letter that she never supported nor will support those who are attacking Anna Hazare," he said.
(Watch)Mr Hazare's hunger strike earlier this month, circled by an unprecedented people's movement, forced the government to agree that the new Lokpal Bill to tackle corruption should be developed by a committee that includes representatives from civil society. Mr Hazare selected the five activists who would work alongside five ministers. His nominees included Prashant Bhushan and his father, Shanti, who Mr Hazare picked as co-chairman of the drafting committee.
Since then, the Bhushans have confronted a series of controversies which are being employed by critics to suggest the Bhushans have very little moral ground to stand on as they campaign for an anti-corruption law. Supporters of the Bhushans, on the other hand, say there has been a concerted effort - partly by those within the Congress - to undermine the credibility of the father and son.
On Wednesday, Shanti Bhushan had to answer questions about why he accepted two plots for farmhouses in Noida from the Mayawati government. The two and a half acres of agricultural land were allotted at massively discounted rates to Mr Bhushan and his other son, Jayant, in 2010 as part of a special government scheme.
Critics of the Bhushans have suggested there is a serious conflict of interest in the Bhushans accepting this land - after all, they are fighting Mayawati in court in a series of cases including a memorial park she is constructing in in Noida in an area that environmentalists describe as an ecologically-fragile area because of its proximity to a bird sanctuary.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Shanti Bhushan said that the allotment of land should be cancelled if the process that led to it lacks transparency. He also denied suggestions of a conflict of interest, stressing that his sons and he have not opted out of the court cases that they initiated against the Chief Minister. (
Read: Shanti Bhushan's statement on Noida allotment)
The high-volume discussion over the land deal comes even as the Bhushans are tackling a different public relations nightmare over a CD that was delivered anonymously last week to news organizations including NDTV.
A conversation between three men - purported to be Mulayam Singh Yadav, Amar Singh and Shanti Bhushan - reveals a voice that resembles Mr Bhushan's stating that a judge in Andhra Pradesh can be bribed; he asks for four crores for the task. Mr Bhushan has said that while the voice may be his, the CD consists of snatches of conversations spliced together. Prashant Bhushan has produced reports from two different labs that back this claim.
Shanti Bhushan has also served Congress leader Digvijaya Singh with a legal notice today. Mr Singh, who is a General Secretary of the Congress party, had alleged that the Bhushans pressured the owner of a house in Allahabad to sell the property to them at a bargain; and that they have not paid the required stamp duty on the acquisition. (
Read: Again, Digvijaya targets civil society activists)
Critics like Mr Singh emphasize that their only agenda is to ensure that the Bhushans apply the same standards of accountability to themselves as they have used for politicians in recent years. "I have not cast aspersions on them. There should be absolute transparency in what they are doing. If they demand transparency, they should give transparency as well," he said.
But the debate is not confined to ethics alone. After the CD controversy erupted, Shanti Bhushan said he had never met Amar Singh. On Wednesday, the former leader of the Samajwadi Party claimed that in fact, his party had had chartered a plane for Shanti Bhushan to argue a case on its behalf in Lucknow. Mr Singh said Rs 50 lakh had been paid to Mr Bhushan for this case - and he wanted to know if this money was declared by Mr Bhushan in his taxes. (
Read: Amar Singh hits out at Bhushans)