New Delhi, Asserting that the Central Government is not serious about passing a strong Lokpal Bill, social activist Arvind Kejriwal has said Team Anna would decide its future course of action after the budget session of parliament ends. "We are waiting for the parliament session to get over. Our future strategy and agitation will be announced after that," Kejriwal told media here. "We do doubt their (government) intentions. When the budget session was so big then why did they not get the bill earlier? Why on the last day? They could have got it 15-30 days earlier, so defiantly there is a doubt over their intentions," he added. Earlier, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and Team Anna member Kiran Bedi has said the Central Government is not serious about endorsing an effective Lokpal Bill, since it would be like sounding the death knell for corrupt politicians. "The Lokpal Bill is a very tough law for people who are corrupt and they also happen to be in power. They also know that there is enough proof against them. It will be very difficult for them as they will be investigated and like former telecom minister A Raja they will go to jail because whistleblowers ...
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Ahmedabad/ Ghaziabad, Former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and Team Anna member Kiran Bedi has said the Central Government is not serious about endorsing an effective Lokpal Bill, since it would be like sounding the death knell for corrupt politicians. "The Lokpal Bill is a very tough law for people who are corrupt and they also happen to be in power. They also know that there is enough proof against them. It will be very difficult for them as they will be investigated and like former telecom minister A Raja they will go to jail because whistleblowers will gather enough proof against them. So this will not be enacted easily," Bedi told media here. "It will be enacted when all of us stand together with Anna Hazare because these politicians count the number of people," she added. Echoing similar sentiment, Team Anna member Manish Sisodia has said that an effective and strong Lokpal Bill couldn't be expected from a cabinet that has corrupt ministers. "How can a country hope for a tough anti-graft law from a cabinet which has 16 ministers who have charges of corruption against them? We have absolutely no hope from this cabinet," said Sisodia. He also said that ...
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New Delhi, Reacting to former President Dr. A.P.J Abdul Kalam's statement that the Lokpal Bill will only fill jails, former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and social activist Kiran Bedi on Wednesday said there is a need for a strong legal tool to combat graft. "What is missing in India today, is a strong legal tool of which people are very afraid and there's a high surety of punishment and their speedy justice and there is a recovery of stolen money. That is what is missing today," Bedi told media here. "Remember what Dr. Kalam is saying is right. He is talking about generation next. You do need a generation next of better school children with value based education. But what you do with an epidemic of corruption, which is existing. So, what you do with those who are not children, but who are men and women who have committed corruption and who living on corruption money and who are showing the richness. And it's corruption stolen from common man's money. So, I think what we are talking about is a top-down and bottom-up approach," added Bedi. Bedi further pressed for having special courts so that the perpetrators could be booked. "We know that they (lawmakers) are ...
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New Delhi, Team Anna on Thursday extended full support to Army chief V K Singh, alleging that he was targeted for not "toeing" the government line on issues. Activist Arvind Kejriwal alleged government has killed almost every institution by "planting its loyals". "Those who refuse to toe government line, like Army chief and CAG, are targeted. We fully support army chief's struggle. We are proud of him," Kejriwal wrote on micro-blogging site Twitter. He said government appeared to be at war with the armed forces and the people of India. Referring to the remarks against the army chief, he said, "Politicians, rather than discussing precarious security preparedness of India, are playing politics." Another Team Anna member Kiran Bedi said it appeared that the Army chief was surrounded by "senior officials with doubtful integrity". "Had evidence but did not know how to fix it? Now he has! Laws of nature work when nothing else does. Trust in nature. Those riding on corruption and abuse of power will see their end sooner than later," she tweeted. The comments came following Singh's remarks about him being offered a Rs 14 crore bribe by a lobbyist to clear the ...
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New Delhi, The speeches given by Team Anna Hazare members are a fit case for privilege and could be considered for appropriate action, Lok Sabha privilege committee chair P C Chacko said. Speaking to TOI on Monday, Chacko said "The comments made by activists generalizing MPs as dacoits and murderers are quite unacceptable. It is an attempt to blackmail Parliament into blindly accepting their demands." Chacko said as yet no complaint has been referred to him by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, but the committee would be ready to seek an explanation from persons who leveled allegations against MPs. "We would want to know why the comments were made. Were they innocent or did they indicate a motive," he said. The Kerala MP said Team Anna had previously attracted the attention of MPs for statements that were seen to be insulting and allegations that were made without substantiation. "It has been felt in the past the matter can be dropped after apologies. This time we need to consider whether the actions were deliberate and provocative," he said. In the past, Team Anna members Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi as well as actor Om Puri, who gave a speech during last year's ...
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Jaipur/Ahmedabad, Welcoming the Supreme Court's verdict in a 2G case petition filed by Janata Party president Subramanian Swamy, former senior police officer and civil society activist Kiran Bedi has said the apex court order in the telecom scam case has vindicated what they have been fighting for in Jan Lokpal movement. "Supreme Court has exactly said what we have asking and fighting for, what people have been asking, everything to be time bound. But in Jan Lokpal Bill, there was supposed to be no sanction for prosecution. If there is evidence, the CBI starts its investigation and nobody interferes in its investigation. This is what the Jan Lokpal Bill was. Secondly in Jan Lokpal Bill, it was time bound trial and through number of special courts as needed, so within the maximum period of less than two years, a case is decided," Bedi told media in Jaipur. Noted lawyer Prashant Bhushan said the verdict would give a boost to the struggle against corruption. "They have firstly again highlighted how big a menace corruption is in society and we need to tackle it on a war footage. Secondly, even when a private complainant makes a complaint and seeks sanction of the government ...
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New Delhi, Commenting on the incident in Amritsar, where Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was shown black flags by supporters of social activist Anna Hazare, key team Anna member Kiran Bedi today said the protesters did so as they support the cause (Jan Lokpal Bill) they believe in. "They r (are) supporting d (the) cause they believe in. Anna never asks anyone to do this. Nor does Team Anna. We have great regards for our PM," Ms Bedi tweeted. However, she said there was better options with the India Against Corruption (IAC) volunteers to protest. "Undoubtedly out of respect for PM and New Year Day there was better option of protest. But every one has a right 2 (to) their own expression!" the former IPS officer said. She added that the people who showed black flags to the Prime Minister for Jan Lokpal Bill were IAC volunteers of Amritsar "as were elsewhere on their own around the country". "2011 was yr (year) of people galvanised by Anna 4 (for) effective framework in place 2 (to) punish offenders in power/position. Let's C (see) to whom 2012 belongs?" she added. The Prime Minister, who paid obeisance at the Golden Temple here this morning, was shown black flags by ...
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New Delhi, Former police officer Kiran Bedi, a key member of corruption crusader Anna Hazare's group, has said that they will not launch a planned hunger strike campaign for the Lokpal Bill if the ongoing session of the Parliament is extended to discuss it. "If Anna sees Parliament is engaged in drafting the Lokpal Bill, why will he go and sit on a fast on December 27? Why will we do a jail bharo from January 1?" she told a television news channel. "If Anna sees the Parliament engaged, he would love to facilitate the engagement. As long as they stay engaged and give us the date, we will wait and watch. Why will we rush? We will wait till that last day. I am sure Anna would do that," she added. Hazare on Thursday had said that he would launch a new movement, 'Jail Bharo Andolan' (fill the jails), from January 1 in front of the houses of lawmakers if they attempt to dilute or delay the Lokpal bill. He threatened to demonstrate in front of the house of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Rahul Gandhi if the government fails to pass a 'proper' Lokpal bill. "I will stage protests outside houses of MPs," Hazare said, reiterating his call to inlcude the Prime ...
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Jalandhar, January 24 (DNS)- The Congress and SAD-BJP governments in Punjab failed to properly rehabilitate the victims of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots who migrated to this state. Supreme Court advocate HS Phoolka, who is waging a legal battle for justice to the riot victims, stated this during a visit to Jalandhar yesterday. The SC advocate also said the November ‘84 Carnage Justice Committee filed public interest litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court requesting it to constitute a monitoring committee for the anti-Sikh riots on the pattern of the same by the SC for the Gujarat riots. Accompanied by advocate Navkiran Singh and Peer Mohammad, Phoolka said 80 per cent of the anti-Sikh riot victims who stayed back in Delhi were back on their feet through hard work, whereas the case of those who had migrated to Punjab was totally reverse. The SC advocate said only 20 per cent of the riot victims who migrated to Punjab were properly rehabilitated. Responding to a query, he said every government, including the present SAD-BJP government, was responsible for not taking adequate measures to properly rehabilitate the victims. Phoolka said several anti-Sikh riot victims had not been ...
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