Charging the government with “stonewalling” their demand for an
effective Lokpal, social activist Anna Hazare and his three colleagues
called off their fast here on Friday with a call for public support to
take the anti-corruption movement from “the streets to Parliament.”
Announcing the decision to take its plunge into electoral politics, Team
Anna said it was a logical culmination of its struggle. Mr. Hazare,
however, made it clear that he would not launch a party or contest
elections.
On the tenth day of his fast, Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal gave a
call for Sampoorna Kranti (total revolution). “It would not be a party
but an ‘andolan’ [movement] without a high command. People will select
the candidates. We will go the farmers, to the youth and the unemployed,
go around the country asking people about issues plaguing them and
their solutions. They will decide the manifesto.’’
Admitting that at this stage what the India Against Corruption planned
to do was “no more than a broad vision,” Mr. Kejriwal said their aim was
not to just win elections but to challenge all political parties. “We
will put all the donations received and expenses on the website and
challenge other parties to do the same.”
Reacting to the move, Congress, however, said Team Anna’s decision was a
face saver to end the fast as the issues raised by the activists were
“completely hollow” in substance. “This move is not about capturing
power but about changing the nature of State power,” Team Anna said in a
declaration. “Our objective is to provide a political alternative that
will be realised through an electoral revolution to democratise and
decentralise power and make power structures transparent and accountable
to people.”
Buoyed by what they called an overwhelming public response in favour of
their decision, Team Anna members said having exhausted all options they
chose the path of electoral politics. They would be happy to change
their decision if before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections Parliament passes
the Jan Lokpal Bill and laws on the Right to Reject and Recall and
empowers Gram Sabhas under the Panchayati Raj Act.
Justifying the move, Mr. Hazare said, “Those who are now questioning our
intentions had earlier asked us to first get elected to the Lok Sabha
if we wanted to raise these issues. Now why they are raising
questions?......it was when General (retired) V.K. Singh and other
eminent citizens appealed to us to break our fast and provide an
alternative that we decided to drop the ‘anshan’.”
Mr. Hazare said he would travel across the country to awaken the people on the plan to give a political alternative.
