Ghaziabad/New Delhi:
Amid deepening controversies over some of its most-influential members, Team Anna held its core committee meeting in Ghaziabad near Delhi today. The meeting lasted for four hours, after which member Mufti Shamoon Qasmi announced that the "committee will not be dissolved."
The meeting began at the office of the Public Cause Research Foundation -- a trust run by Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal -- in Ghaziabad at 11 am and ended a little after 3 pm. A press briefing might be held later in the day.
Anna, 74, did not attend the meeting; he has extended his "maun vrat" or vow of silence. Medha Patkar and Justice Santosh Hegde were also absent.
The meeting took place amid reports of deep dissent within the team, accusations of financial malpractices and talks of a possible revamp - all this was reportedly on the table for discussion along with the group's agenda for the next few months.
In a letter sent to Anna on Friday, a member of the core committee, which has 26 representatives including Anna, asked that the entire group be suspended and replaced with a larger team. The member, Kumar Vishwas, also said that the Congress was trying to discredit members of the core committee. "Such attacks and the subsequent clarifications will strengthen the conspiracy to divert the attention from the key issues. I request you to give greater representation to the Core Committee consisting of limited members," he wrote.
Mr Vishwas, a college lecturer and poet, said the personal attacks on Core Committee members by "corrupt forces" were proof that these people were trying to "neutralise and hurt" those fighting graft. Mr Vishwas did not attend today's meeting.
Several other team members including Ms Patkar have in the past spoken about the need for an overhaul. Anna Hazare's official blogger, Raju Parulekar, had also said that the core committee would be expanded soon. He, however, declined to go into details of when and how the revamp would take place.
Ms Patkar, one of the most-respected members of the committee, talked about the revamp, but she categorically denied reports of deepening divides within the group. "I don't think there is a difference of opinion. The only thing is a bit of overhauling is certainly becoming necessary because there are a number of allegations and Core Committee members are being targeted," she said.
Talking to reporters before going for the meeting, Kiran Bedi, another prominent faces of Anna's movement, also echoed Ms Patkar's words and asserted that there were no differences within the movement. "There is no question of chaos. There are no cracks. We are all activists. None of us are falling prey to the politicians. Our resolve is even stronger. Resolve of the key team is stronger today," she said. Hinting at a possible change or addition in the core team, Ms Bedi said, "There were some people who were not part of the movement. We want to include all. We have invested our everything in this movement. We would want to hear everyone in this meeting today." "When the corrupt are in power they hound the honest. We want to reverse that. The honest should hound the corrupt. Anna will choose only those whom he trusts," she added.
But Rajinder Singh, who quit the Core Committee earlier this month and is known for his work in water conservation, has suggested that the reports of rifts are not exaggerated. He described Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal as "the most arrogant members in the habit of throwing their weight about and imposing themselves on others."
Since April this year, Anna and his group of civil society activists have turned into national icons because of their India Against Corruption campaign. Their agenda is to ensure that the government introduces a new anti-graft Lokpal Bill - named for the ombudsman agency or Lokpal that will have the power to investigate corruption among government servants.
The government says that Team Anna's vision of the Bill is unrealistic and gives the Lokpal sweeping powers. The activists believe that the government has no interest in creating an agency that is truly equipped to take on politicians and bureaucrats.
The clash between the two sides pushed Anna into two hunger strikes this year - both reverberated across the country, drawing lakhs to his sit-in protests in Delhi.
But lately, the activists have been drawing attention for other reasons. Activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan was attacked this month at his Supreme Court chamber for stating that a referendum is needed in Kashmir to determine the state's political future.
Anna said his team does not subscribe to Mr Bhushan's views; whether he will remain part of Anna's inner circle is likely to be discussed today.
Another prominent Anna aide - former policewoman Kiran Bedi - has acknowledged that when she was invited to address seminars and conferences, she charged her hosts for business class tickets though she flew economy. Ms Bedi has said the difference remained with her NGO - and the savings helped to create more funds. But many have pointed out that generating false travel statements and bills cannot be passed off as a Robin Hood-esque gesture.
There's also an internal conflict over whether Team Anna is getting too political in its operations. A few weeks ago, two members of the core committee quit over the decision by Anna to target the Congress during the Hisar election. Ms Bedi and Anna's closest aide, Mr Kejriwal, campaigned vigorously, asking voters to spurn the Congress.
They said they wanted the public to make it clear that it is the Congress' responsibility - as the main party in power at the Centre - to deliver the Lokpal Bill. If it fails, Anna has warned, he will campaign personally against the Congress in the election for Uttar Pradesh.
That's when "waterman" Rajinder Singh and land rights activist P V Rajgopal quit the core committee, arguing that Anna and his activists should focus solely on the Lokpal Bill, and not engage in hurting or helping a political party.
"I was in Nairobi when Hazare decided to support a political candidate in Hisar and I immediately parted ways with Team Anna as I did not want to become part of a power brokering process," said Mr Singh.
Mr Kejriwal has been accused of diverting donations worth Rs. 80 lakhs made to Anna's movement to a trust headed by him. He has said a thorough audit is being conducted, and details of how all donations were handled will soon be made public.
Mr Kejriwal has also been asked by the Income Tax department to pay nine lakh as a penalty for violating the terms of his employment as an Indian Revenue Service officer; he quit in 2006.