Mumbai:
Activist Anna Hazare has announced a new front against corruption, whose name will be disclosed before Diwali. The co-founder of his movement, the former chief of the Indian Army, VK Singh, said Parliament must be dissolved immediately and elections held because the government beset by graft and conjoined to big business, has stopped caring about the people.
"We need to awaken the people...so the General and I will travel all over the country starting January 30," said Anna, who is 75. He said that General Singh and he will not campaign in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, which vote in November and December. Anna said the structure of his front has yet to be finalised, but he plans to install a team in every state. For the general elections, he said, his team will assess candidates from different parties and advise voters on who to support.
"I will support his candidates if they are clean," Anna said today, when asked about his protege Arvind Kejriwal, whose decision to launch a political party ended their partnership. "If Arvind contests, I will support him," he added.
Targeting the Prime Minister, General Singh asked him why the government was "looting" people. "The opposition and the government have abandoned the people's interest," said the former chief, who retired at the end of May in a whorl of controversy over his allegations of being offered bribes while in office, and the government allegedly ignoring his complaints.
"As per the Constitution, India is a welfare state in which a democratically elected government is duty bound to protect and improve the lives of the people. However, the current system has completely ignored the directive principles enshrined in the constitution and has surrendered to market forces," General Singh said.
Till barely two months ago, Anna was the face of India Against Corruption, a conglomerate of civil society groups stewarded largely by Arvind Kejriwal.
For most of last year, Anna and Mr Kejriwal championed the cause of an anti-graft law or "Lokpal Bill" named after the national ombudsman that the legislation would create, when it is passed by parliament. It remains stalled in the Rajya Sabha, a delay which Anna and Mr Kejirwal attribute to the government's apathy in fighting venality.
When Mr Kejriwal announced that he would set up a political party, Anna balked. The India Against Corruption movement was ripped asunder. Mr Kejriwal formally launched his party earlier this month; it has yet to be named.