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Lokpal: Hazare puts
Congress on notice Ralegan Siddhi, October 4 To begin with, Hazare said, he will appeal to voters in Hisar Lok Sabha constituency in Haryana where bypolls are scheduled on October 13 not to vote for the Congress candidate as the party was “deliberately” not bringing the Jan Lokpal Bill. “We are not going to tell the voters whom they should vote for. If the Bill is not passed in the winter session, we will ask people to vote for any party except the Congress and choose a candidate who is clean and with a good character,” Hazare told a press conference in his native village, 50 km from Pune. The activist also announced that he would undertake a four-day fast in Lucknow, three days before the UP Assembly elections commence. Making it clear that his opposition to the Congress was limited to the issue of Jan Lokpal Bill, Hazare, who was flanked by his key team-member Arvind Kejriwal, said that if the Bill was passed, he would still go ahead with his campaign asking people to elect people with integrity. He said preparations were underway for his nation-wide tour, which is likely to start from October 15, and he had advised his team to arrange his rallies in constituencies, where the Congress had won the last Assembly elections in UP. Hazare, who had withdrawn his 12-day hunger strike in Ramlila Maidan on August 28 following assurances from the Centre that three of his main demands would be considered, made it clear that his agitation would be intensified across the country in the coming months. Noting that the Parliamentary Standing committee was supposed to conclude its deliberations on the Lokpal Bill by October end, Hazare said, “If the Bill is not passed in the winter session, it would amount to yet another betrayal of nation by the Congress.” Describing the Hisar bypoll as the “first step” of his campaign, Hazare said, if the Congress failed to give a written commitment to the passing of the Bill, as other parties have done, before Dasehra, he would urge the electorate not to vote for the Congress. He said he has got letters from BJP chief Nitin Gadkari and others supporting Jan Lokpal Bill but none from Congress. The activist said he will wait for two days for the letter from Congress and will start his campaign against them if the party fails to do so. The Gandhian sought a clarification from the PM Manmohan Singh on allegations in 2G Spectrum case. He said the PM should come clean on his alleged role therein. — PTI Bill in winter session: Khursheed As Anna Hazare threatened to campaign against the Congress, Union Law Minister Salman Khursheed on Tuesday said the anti-graft Bill will be introduced in the winter session. “Every citizen is free to vote for anybody. The Congress will only do its work, perform its duties and will then go back to people when the duty is performed,” he said. Hisar to be first step Hazare said he would appeal to voters in the Hisar Lok Sabha constituency, where a bypoll is scheduled on October 13, not to vote for the Congress if the party failed to give a written commitment before Dasehra to pass the Bill. Hazare said he would try to visit Hisar in the coming days but if he cannot do so, he will send a video message to the people.
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