Anna Hazare calls on supporters to recall lawmakers opposed to passing of Jan Lokpal Bill

Anna Hazare calls on supporters to recall lawmakers opposed to passing of Jan Lokpal BillRalegan Siddhi (Maharashtra), Sep. 10 : Veteran social activist and anti-graft campaigner Anna Hazare on Saturday called on his supporters to demonstrated outside the homes of all lawmakers opposing the passing the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament.

In a statement issued ahead of a two-day core committee meeting of Team Anna Hazare that begin here today, Anna said the people had a right to recall any lawmaker who was not representing their constituency''s interest in parliament, and especially on the issue of the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill.

The two-day core committee meeting in Anna''s native village of Ralegan Siddhi will devise strategy for the further passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill in parliament.

This is Team Anna''s first formal engagement after the anti-graft crusader''s 12-day fast at Delhi''s Ramlila Ground last month.

The 22-member core group will, among other things, also discuss the issue of electoral reforms after Hazare''s call for voters right to "reject and recall", according to sources close to the Gandhian.

However, conspicuous by his absence will be Swami Agnivesh, a prominent member of the core group, who parted ways after circulation of a CD, which showed him purportedly talking to Union Minister Kapil Sibal and telling him to act tough with Hazare, they said.

Crying "betrayal," Agnivesh had accused certain members of Team Anna of "conspiring" against him and said the "vicious" campaign was aimed at destroying his credibility.

A key member of the group and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi, who addressed a gathering of students at a Pune college on Friday, confirmed that the Swami would not attend the meeting.

"He would speak for himself," she told reporters when they sought more information about Agnivesh whom she had dubbed as a "government mole" in the anti-corruption movement after the CD was leaked.

The meeting, sources said, would also discuss ways to further mobilise public opinion in favour of the Jan Lokpal Bill to make it an instrument for achieving the goal of a "corruption-free" India.

The core group is also expected to discuss notices served on its members for their alleged derogatory remarks against politicians, apart from the one issued by the income tax department to his close aide Arvind Kejriwal, an Indian Revenue Service officer, for recovery of Rs 9.27 lakh for violating contract clauses while going on a study leave.

Hazare had issued a veiled warning to the government for the notice to Kejriwal, saying the civil society would be compelled to "take a different path" if the government unleashed vendetta against its members. (ANI)