Anna Hazare’s supporters question Yashwant Sinha in Hazaribagh on Monday. Picture by Vishvendu Jaipuriar

Hazaribagh, Aug. 22: A defiant Yashwant Sinha today lost his cool when local supporters of Anna Hazare questioned him point-blank whether he supported the anti-corruption movement or not, claiming he was not a “sadak chaap” leader but one conscious of loopholes in the Lokpal bill.

A group of 30 persons led by Satish Girija of the Nav Bharat Jagriti Kendra, a local NGO, gheraoed the Hazaribagh MP who had called a press conference at Atal Bhavan, the district BJP’s office, around 12.30pm and sought his view on the Lokpal bill.

Binay Bhatt, also a member of the NGO, asked the MP bluntly, “Sir, please answer yes or no.” An angry Sinha retorted, “What you can do is not vote for me in the next election. But what if I do not contest the election?”

Claiming he would stick to the BJP’s view on the matter, Sinha opined that Hazare’s bill was full of errors. He added, “I assure you that I am in support of a strong bill and not a weak one as suggested by the Anna team. A strong Lokpal bill is needed to deal with the prevailing corrupt system but accepting Anna’s bill is not the solution.”

Later, Sinha told mediapersons that a campaign was on to tarnish his image. He claimed Anna’s bill would create a tussle between the judiciary and the Lokpal. He said it was not clear who would appoint the Lokpal.

Taking a dig at his political rivals, the MP said he was the first person from his family to enter politics, after holding various key positions as a bureaucrat with a clean record.

“I quit my job in 1984, when I had 12 years of service left. Main koi sadak chaap neta nahin hoon. Maine J.P. ke adarshon ko apnaya hai aur use hi jindagi mei utar kar rajneeti kar raha hoon (I am not a cheap politician. I came into politics after following the ideology of Jaiprakash Narayan),” he added.

People should not overlook his career and clean image before listening to rumours, Sinha said.

Members of the Jan Lokpal Sangharsh Morcha also took out a rally demanding Sinha’s support to the bill.