New Delhi:
Anna Hazare ended his 19-day vow of silence today with many words. He gave an A+ to the anti-corruption bill passed in Uttarakhand this week, said he suspected the UPA government's motives on the Lokpal Bill and sought to distance himself from any political alignment as he campaigns against corruption.
The Gandhian activist also responded to senior minister Ambika Soni wondering aloud why Anna needed to issue warnings to a government committed to passing the Lokpal Bill. He said, "I have never given warnings. We just try to remind the ministers about the Lokpal Bill."
So saying, Anna issued another reminder with some hard criticism. The motives of the UPA government on enacting a strong anti-corruption law were suspect, he said. "The government is making divisive laws, their intention is not right." He reiterated that if the Lokpal Bill was not passed in the winter session of Parliament, he would campaign in all five election-bound states. One of those states is Uttarakhand, which came in for much praise from the activist.
"Uttarakhand Chief Minister BC Khanduri should be applauded. People like him should be praised. We have to praise the good, and criticize the bad," the Gandhian said addressing reporters this morning.
The 74-year-old however added that he "does not see Khanduri as someone who represented his party the BJP. I see him as the Chief Minister of a state and praise him for the work he is doing for the state." Mr Hazare's thumbs up is likely to pay rich dividend for the BJP which is in power in the state, scheduled to vote soon for its next government.
But he stressed that there was not much difference between the Congress and the BJP - "One is a graduate, the other completed post graduate," he said.
Anna ended his maun vrat today at Rajghat, after 19 days of complete silence. He said his maun vrat had not been directed at any individual or party. "My maun vrat was not against any individual or party, it was against the system," he said.
The anti-graft crusader, who has become a national icon, said his group's battle against corruption will continue.
That will include urging the central government to adopt a Lokpal Bill like the one passed by the Uttarakhand Assembly. Anna's close aides, Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan, shared this opinion yesterday at a meeting with the parliamentary committee that's studying options for a national Lokpal Bill. The Bill aims to check corruption among government servants by creating an ombudsman agency or Lokpal that will investigate complaints of graft.
During the presser, Anna also hinted at a possible revamp of his core committee. "We will bring in people from all walks of life in our core committee. Our old committee will be dissolved, and new committee will be formed. Our agitation started suddenly, so people were brought in in a hurry." The process of formation of the new core committee, Anna said, will take place over the next few months.
Anna ended his presser by reiterating his warning for another fast. "If the Lokpal Bill is not passed in the Winter Session of Parliament, I will fast for three days, and then will go on a tour in five states."
The bill passed in Uttarakhand incorporates all the powers for the Lokpal that Anna and his team deem necessary. Judges are covered by the bill; so are all bureaucrats, elected representatives and MLAs including the Chief Minister.
The union government has objected to the national avatar of the Lokpal having jurisdiction over judges, lower bureaucrats and the Prime Minister's office.