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New Delhi: Following the cancellations of their plans of 'jail bharo' (fill the jails) and election campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls, Team Anna has now made an attempt to reach the general public, inviting them to suggest what should Anna Hazare and his team do next.
Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has written an article in the national daily 'The Times of India' asking people to suggest the way forward for Team Anna. In his article he wrote, "The anti-corruption movement is at the crossroads today. Where do we go from here? We are conscious that a wrong decision at this stage could prove disastrous for the movement."
Kejriwal also suggested that Hazare felt cheated and was 'deeply hurt' after he saw how the events have unfolded in the past few months over the Lokpal Bill. "I met Anna in hospital two days back. Most of the time, I found him in deep thought. More than his physical ailment, he is suffering from a deep sense of being cheated. He is deeply hurt," Kejriwal wrote.
Explaining Team Anna's side of the story, Kejriwal wrote about how the government kept assuring them of incorporating their suggestions in the Lokpal Bill, but never did.
Calling the Lokpal Bill tabled by the government in the winter session of Parliament 'ineffective' and 'dangerous', Kejriwal wrote, "The Bill that was presented in Parliament is not only weak and ineffective, it is dangerous and would further weaken our already compromised anti-corruption systems. It renders CBI ineffective. It seeks to amend the investigative procedures provided in the Criminal Procedure Code so much to the advantage of the accused that it would be impossible to successfully convict anyone. Earlier, we were fighting for a strong Lokpal Bill. Today, we are fighting for stopping this one from being passed."
He also disclosed that the government and Team Anna members were in backchannel talks in December, where the government started speaking in a different tone and challenged Team Anna of making the Congress weak electorally. He wrote, "If any people's movement can't hurt them electorally, they don't care. That's dangerous."
After Team Anna campaigned in the Hisar by-elections, they were accused of acting political and there were allegations that their campaign has become anti-Congress and was no more anti-corruption. Kejriwal, in his article, however, defended this saying, "haven't we been pushed to the corner? We are certainly not anti-Congress. Why should we be? All those who were looking for a hidden agenda have miserably failed."
He also said that Team Anna has never thought of forming their own political party. Kejriwal, through this article, aims at asking people as to what should Team Anna be doing after all this. He wrote, "The people should now suggest the way ahead. Send your suggestions to [email protected]."
Click here to read Arvind Kejriwal's full article in The Times of India
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