Hazare puts Cong on notice on Lokpal issue

Ralegan Siddhi, Oct 4 (PTI) Activist Anna Hazare on
Tuesday put Congress on notice on the Lokpal (anti-corruption
ombudsman) issue, saying he will campaign against it in
election-bound states if the Indian government fails to get
his version of the anti-corruption bill passed in
Parliament's Winter Session.
To begin with, Hazare said, he will appeal to voters in
Hisar Lok Sabha constituency in northern Indian state Haryana
where bypolls are scheduled on October 13 not to vote for the
Congress candidate as the party was "deliberately" not
bringing the Jan Lokpal bill.
"If the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in the Winter
Session, then I will name the Congress and ask people not to
vote for it in the Assembly polls scheduled in five states
next year," he said addressing a press conference in his
native village, 50 km from western Indian city Pune.
He announced that he would begin his tour of five
election-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab,
Goa and Manipur between October 13 and 15.
Hazare, who had withdrawn his 12-day hunger strike in
Ramlila Maidan following assurances from the government that
three of his main demands would be considered, made it clear
that his agitation would be intensified across the country in
the coming months.
He said he will undertake a fast in Lucknow three days
before election commences in central Indian state Uttar
Pradesh if the government does not pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in
Winter Session of Parliament.
Hazare said he will try to visit Hisar in the coming days
and if he cannot do so, he will send a video message appealing
to people "not to vote for Congress as they are deliberately
not bringing the Jan Lokpal Bill."
He said he has got letters from Bhartiya Janata Party
chief Nitin Gadkari and others supporting Jan Lokpal Bill but
not any from Congress.
The activist said he will wait for two more days for the
letter from Congress and will start his campaign against them
if the party fails to do so.
"We will oppose the Congress... They sent me to jail...
Does it behove a government to attack innocents in Ramdev's
camp in Ramlila Maidan?" he asked.
He said he will not ask people to vote for any particular
candidate but appeal to them to vote for clean candidates.
Asked whether he would support a clean candidate from
Congress even if the Jan Lokpal Bill is not passed in the
Winter Session, Hazare said he will appeal to people to vote
for candidates other than from Congress.
"What is the purpose of a clean candidate if the party is
not right? Is Manmohan Singh not clean? The problem is that he
is remote-controlled," he said.
On if he feared that he would be targeted as a BJP
supporter, Hazare said those who raise such allegations should
be sent to a mental hospital.
"In my whole life, not a single instance has shown that I
had been associated with BJP or RSS. I have never attended a
single meeting (of BJP or RSS)," he said.
Replying to a question, he said Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi's decision to jail IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt was
wrong. "Bhatt has submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court.
The matter is before the Supreme Court. Then what is the need
for arresting him. This is wrong," Hazare said. PTI SJY
MNS