After Sonia's letter, Anna not impressed with assurance on Lokpal Bill

Anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare today remained unimpressed over the latest assurance by Sonia Gandhi that Lokpal Bill would be passed in the budget session of Parliament, saying intentions of the Congress President and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on this issue were 'not clear'.

"Such letters and assurances (like the one by Sonia Gandhi) are coming for the past two years. Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had earlier too written such letters to me promising to pass the Lokpal bill," Hazare said.

Hazare was talking to reporters here on the eve of launching his country-wide 'Vyawastha Parivartan' (change in system) programme and addressing a "Jantranta rally" from Bihar capital tomorrow.

"(Their) intention is not clear ... They have been cheating people time and again ... If they had been honest one or at best two parliamentary sessions would have been sufficient to do it (pass the Lokpal bill)," he said.

Asked if he had any expectation from Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on the bill, he said "Everybody is the same. All of them are cheating the people."

Sonia Gandhi had written a letter to Hazare recently and sent it to his Rale Sidhi village home assuring him that the Lokpal Bill, which he is campaigning for, would be passed in the coming budget session of Parliament which commences in the second half of next month.

The letter was sent days before the launch of Hazare's fresh campaign.

Hazare, who was accompanied by retired army chief V K Singh, said he would launch a nation-wide 'movement for 'changing the system to fulfil the 'dreams of Mahatama Gandhi and Jaiprakash Narayan'.

The Congress President in her letter to Hazare underlined the government's commitment to establish an anti-corruption Ombudsman.

The Lokpal Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha in 2011 but was stalled in the Rajya Sabha. It was later referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee which has since given its report to Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari.