Hazare to campaign against Congress party if Jan Lokpal (People's Ombudsman) Bill is not passed

New Delhi, Nov 4 (PTI) Social activist Anna Hazare who has spearheading the cause of a 'people's' ombudsman in the country Thursday said he will campaign against the Congress, the main constituent of India's ruling UPA coalition, in the five poll-bound states if the Manmohan Singh government fails to get the Jan Lokpal (People's Ombudsman) Bill passed in the Winter Session of Indian Parliament. "Let anybody say anything. I will campaign against those who did not bring the bill. I will go and campaign and say do not give vote to Congress if the Bill is not passed in the Winter Session of Parliament," he said addressing a press conference shortly at the Gandhi memorial at Rajghat in Delhi after breaking a 19-day 'vow of silence'. Hazare said if the Bill is not passed, he will fast for three days and then will go for a nation-wide tour. Asked if he will campaign against the main opposition Bhartiya Janata party, he said he will not campaign for the party. "I won't campaign for BJP. There is no difference between Congress and BJP," he said. However, Hazare praised Chief Minister B C Khanduri of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand for bringing a strong Lokayukta (state-level ombudsman) Bill and said he will honour the Chief Minister here for his "bold step". Team Anna, the group championing the Jan Lokpal under the leadership of Hazare, had come under attack for campaigning against the Congress party during a bypoll for the Hissar Parliament sent in the northern state of Haryana with critics saying they are indulging in politics though they were claiming to be campaigning against corruption. Accusing the government of trying to "weaken" the Jan Lokpal Bill, Hazare said there was no need for bringing out separate bills on citizens charter as well as on whistle blowers. "Government's intention is doubtful...The government is trying to weaken the Jan Lokpal Bill by cutting it into pieces. All these provisions were there in the Jan Lokpal Bill," he said. On Team Anna's campaign against Congress in Hissar Parliament bypoll, he said "We did not want to destabilise the government but wanted to send a strong message that till a strong Lokpal Bill is enacted, our agitation will continue." On various allegations against some of the Team Anna members, he said, "There could be some drawback but that does not mean corruption." Asked about his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh threatening to restart his agitation if the Jan Lokpal Bill was not passed, he said he just wanted to remind the government about the passage of Bill. Hazare had undertaken a fast in New Delhi in August in his demand for Jan Lokpal and ended it only after an assurance was given that the bill in this regard would be brought up in the winter session of Parliament. The month-long winter session of India's Parliament convenes on November 21. PTI Caption for pic: Anna Hazare, flanked by his associates Prashant Bhushan (R), Shanti Bhushan (2R), Arvind Kejriwal (2L) and Kiran Bedi (L), addressing the media after breaking his 19-day long vow of silence in New Delhi on Friday. PTI Photo