Congress, Team Anna war of words continues

A bitter war of words broke out between the government and social activist Anna Haraze on Thursday over allegations that Union Minister Salman Khurshid tried to divide Team Anna, which is currently sitting on an indefinite fast at Jantar Mantar demanding probe against 14 Cabinet Ministers including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pranab Mukherjee.

In a scathing attack, Anna Hazare on Thursday challenged Salman Khurshid's claim that the government did not try to divide his team. "During elections, they go to slums and serve people and now they're asking us to go to United Nations. This is the betrayal of the people. If Salman knows the Quran, let him tell that he did not come to meet me. I will keep my hand on the Gita and say he came to meet me," Anna told CNN-IBN. Reacting to the Team Anna's allegations of corruption against central ministers, Khurshid lashed backed saying Team Anna don't believe in law. "If anybody who has no faith in Indian judiciary, Parliament, where should they go? I believe everybody have a duty to have faith in Indian judiciary and Supreme Court." Congress MP Satyarat Chaturvedi, who heads the Select Committee on Lokpal, assured again that they will try and table the Lokapal Bill in the Monsoon session. "We will try our best to table Lokpal Bill in Monsoon Session. We will try to complete it before time but I cannot guarantee it. We don't work under any pressure." Meanwhile, Anna Hazare congratulated Pranab Mukherjee for becoming the President of India. However, he refused to make a statement on his team’s corruption allegations against Mukherjee. Hazare said, "He has become the first citizen of the country by becoming the President. I congratulate him." His remarks came at a time when his team levelled serious allegations against Mukherjee, who was sworn in as the new President on Wednesday, at the first of their indefinite fast against UPA government at Jantar Mantar. Team Anna had even masked the photograph of Mukherjee in a collage at the site in a symbolic protest. The turnout at Team Anna's indefinite fast on the second day at Jantar Mantar was very low; most of the people were volunteers and belonged to social groups. But organisers expressed hope that the numbers will rise during the day. The India Against Corruption members have been claiming that more than 4000 people have come to Jantar Mantar to support their cause. The response to the fast on the first day on Wednesday was also modest with police estimating that 2,500-3,000 people attended during peak hours. The team's earlier protests had attracted several hundred people. The fast at New Delhi's Ramlila Maidan in August 2011 was attended by thousands of people and similar support was seen in all the major cities of the country, forcing the government to call a special session of Parliament to discuss Team Anna's demands.