Ghaziabad, UP:
The anti-corruption group which forced the government to rethink the Lokpal Bill may be having some problems of their own but they are not changing their Core Group.
While various members of Team Anna like Medha Patkar and Kumar Vishwas have suggested that the Core Group around Anna Hazare needs to expand so that individuals aren't targetted, the team members in a meeting on Saturday decided that it wasn't necessary.
"The meeting was of the view that lakhs of volunteers and along with the core committee members have played a significant role in the movement and there was no question of dismantling the committee.
"There is no question of disbanding the Core Committee. The government is targeting us and we will answer such attacks strongly," Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said in Ghaziabad.
At the same time, he also appealed to the government to pass the Lokpal Bill in the Winter Session of Parliament. "Otherwise we will follow a similar campaign - like we did in Hisar - in all five states going to the polls."
Anna Hazare, who has been on an indefinite vow of silence in his village Ralegan Siddhi, and other key members including Justice Santosh Hegde, Medha Patkar and Vincent M Concessao did not attend Saturday's meeting; Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Prashant and Shanti Bhushan and Manish Sisodia were among those present.
The committee also defended Mr Kejriwal from allegations of diversion of lakhs of rupees from the anti-corruption movement to an NGO run by him saying that was a decision taken by the core committee under the aegis of Mr Hazare.
Meanwhile, Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that Team Anna should stop attacking the party and set its own house in order first.
"I think it is only fair to say that rather than attacking the Congress repeatedly, as far as raising questions or pointing fingers at certain individuals of their team is concerned, they should ask this of Justice Hedge, Agnivesh or Rajinder Kumar or other members rather than giving threats to Congress," Mr Singhvi said.
Here is the resolution passed by the Core Committee at the meeting: