Anna asked to revive stir

A day after India Against Corruption (IAC) started a survey on forming a political party, some prominent members and volunteers of erstwhile Team Anna on Sunday urged Anna Hazare to dissociate himself from Arvind Kejriwal and revive the “apolitical” anti-graft movement.

The appeal came after a meeting of IAC volunteers who are opposed to the movement taking a political plunge. Former Team Anna core committee member Sunita Godara, National Alliance for People’s Movement (NAPM) organiser Madhuresh and online activist Shivendra Singh, who had earlier opposed alleged attempts to turn the movement “Kejriwal-centric”, attended the meeting.

In a statement, the volunteers urged Anna to “restart the apolitical” movement for Jan Lokpal, saying that the movement against corruption and demand for Jan Lokpal are getting more support from different quarters.

Volunteers discussed the merits of continuing the movement as opposed to forming political party as announced by some leaders of civil society, it said.

Some of the volunteers will go to Ralegan Siddhi to meet Hazare and request him to “form a separate movement from PCRF and establish a secretariat under his command.”
“Movement has not failed but there has been a temporary setback. Need of the hour is to retreat and reflect and come back stronger instead of taking an altogether new step,” Madhuresh said.

In the meeting, Godara said that the August agitation was called off in haste and demanded that Hazare should restart it soon.

She had earlier claimed that Hazare had distributed a note in which he expressed doubts about changing the character of the movement.

Volunteers, students, senior citizens and activists from rural areas of Delhi NCR also attended the meeting.

The erstwhile Team Anna was divided over the movement taking a political plunge and Kiran Bedi and Justice Santosh Hegde were among the prominent dissenting voices.