Nagpur, Oct. 30: Anna Hazare today said the core committee of his India Against Corruption movement — several of whose members are facing allegations of financial misconduct — will be recast after a constitution is framed for the crusade.
The 74-year-old, who is on a vow of silence since October 16 and communicated through a written statement today, spoke of the need for an organised structure for the movement for the first time but didn’t set any deadline for framing the constitution.
The decision came at a meeting Hazare chaired in Ralegan Siddhi, his village in Maharashtra, where committee members Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi — under attack for financial dealings or controversial statements — were present.
The three apprised Hazare of the decision committee members had taken yesterday at a meeting in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, where an overwhelming majority had passed a resolution saying there was “no question of dissolving” the team.
Hazare’s statement said Team Anna was “very strong” and “no one can break” it. “There were talks about disbanding the core committee. I don’t think it is right. If we flee the ground due to some allegations, it will erode the credibility of the movement…. Don’t bother about allegations,” the statement, read out by Kejriwal at a media conference, said.
Kejriwal has been accused of diverting funds from Hazare’s campaign to his NGO. The allegation against Bedi is she charged her hosts for business-class travel when she actually travelled economy class and used the extra money to fund her NGO. Bhushan has triggered controversy by supporting plebiscite in Kashmir.
“In future,” the statement added, “a constitution will be framed for the movement.... After framing the constitution, the core committee will be revamped.”
The statement said the constitution would have provisions for dealing with anyone guilty of wrongdoing.
Kejriwal dues
Kejriwal told reporters he would pay up the Rs 9.27 lakh fine imposed on him by the income tax department for violating a bond when he resigned from the Indian Revenue Services.
