Hazare next movement should be different: Hegde

Observing that the public has been "taken for a ride" on Lokpal issue, Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde on Sunday said Anna Hazare's next movement should be different from the one in April when he sat on a fast-unto-death.

Asked whether Hazare should start a movement again, Hegde said that there should be another one but it should "somewhat different from what took place from April 5. We must go around the country to impress upon people the need to have a strong Lokpal."

Present a strong Lokpal Bill: Team Anna

As the government prepares to bring Lokpal Bill to the Cabinet, Anna Hazare on Wednesday pitched for a strong version of the law to be presented for consideration of Parliament, contending that the official version falls “far short” of people’s expectations.Contending that government’s version of Lokpal Bill “falls far short” of the expectations of the people, he said it was “too weak and ineffective. It has a very narrow jurisdiction.”He said it was a rare opportunity for UPA government to change the history of India and if they present a strong Lokpal Bill, the whole country would be indebted to them.“Congress claims ‘Congress ka haath, aam admi ke saath (Congress hand is with common man). We sincerely hope that aam admi’s corruption will also be addressed through Lokpal Bill,” Mr. Hazare said.“We sincerely appeal to the Union Cabinet to present a strong Lokpal Bill in Parliament,” he said in a statement.Activist Arvind Kejriwal said there was “nothing for a common man in the present version of government’s Lokpal Bill. Common man’s corruption has been completely left out of Lokpal Bill.”Lawyer Prashant Bhushan said, “The government claims that it first wants to tackle high-level corruption.

Team Hazare drafts lokayukta bill for Nitish Kumar

The bitter experience of anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare and his team in having got involved in a joint drafting exercise with the Centre on the lokpal bill, has not deterred them from coming out with a lokayukta bill for the Bihar government

ANNA HAZARE AND GANDHI

To call Anna Hazare the 21st-century Gandhi, as some have started doing, is pure hyperbole, but many would see a similarity in their methods — in particular, in their resorting to fasts to achieve their objectives. This, however, is erroneous. Indeed, the fact that so many people consider Anna Hazare’s method to be similar to Gandhiji’s only indicates how little contemporary India remembers or understands Gandhiji.

Lokpal Bill: in final lap, rush to reconcile

After the heated exchanges of last week, Team Anna and government representatives got back together to cover substantial ground on the Lokpal Bill today. The two sides agreed on several issues, including a 10-year maximum sentence for corruption and a large corpus to fund the Lokpal.

But the larger issue of control over the bureaucracy and the extent of the Lokpal’s powers remained unresolved. Government representatives strongly resisted the bid by Team Anna to include clauses with a potential to weaken the political executive and create a possibly counterproductive superstructure.

Each side will now present its own draft of the Bill at the final meeting of the committee tomorrow evening, where an attempt will be made to merge them into a common draft for Cabinet and, subsequently, Parliament approval.

Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare put pressure on govt to fight corruption

Indian Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev may have ended his fast but says he will continue to fight against corruption.  Activist Anna Hazare also threatened to take up a new fast to put more pressure on the govt to fight corruption.

Baba Ramdev ended his 9-day fast against corruption just yesterday. The yoga guru asserted that he would resume his campaign against suspected bribe money stashed away overseas. He had continued his hunger strike in his home town Haridwar after the govt. cracked down on his fast in Delhi and sent him home.

The govt has been facing intense criticism for the crack down on the Baba.  Baba Ramdev had been hospitalised Saturday after his condition became critical after his 7 day fast. He ended his hunger strike on Sunday by drinking some juice.

‘Ramdev is dhongi, Anna Hazare panel corrupt’

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary BK Hariprasad on Sunday attacked yoga guru Ramdev by terming him as dhongi (fake) baba and most corrupt. The senior Congress leader from Karnataka also directed his fury at the civil society members in Lokpal Bill drafting committee.

Participating in a mass health check-up programme organised by Sarvajanika Jagruthi Vedike, he said Ramdev is corrupt. He has made big money by luring people through his yoga training. “He has RSS backing. A baba owning assets to the tune of thousands of crores naturally evokes serious suspicions. The Union government has taken several measures to bring back money stashed in foreign banks