Amritsar: Carrying forward their fight for a
strong Lokpal, Team Anna members on Tuesday launched their campaign
in Punjab, which goes to polls on January 30.
In the absence of prominent members Arvind Kejriwal and
Kiran Bedi, today's campaign was led by Manish Sisodia, Gopal
Rai and Prashant Bhushan.
"We are neither against nor in support of any political
party or individual. Our sole aim is the enactment of a strong
Lokpal Bill," Sisodia told a gathering here.
Referring to the Lokpal Bill drafted by the Centre, Team
Anna members said, it will fail to curtail corruption and
check the people involved in corrupt practices.
Later talking to reporters, Sisodia and Bhushan said they
were in Amritsar for campaigning in the polls against
corruption and to make their views public regarding their
goals to achieve eradication of social evils.
Attacking the Congress, Sisodia alleged that it had
cheated them by introducing a fractured Lokpal Bill in
Parliament.
Asking people to throw Congress out of power, Rai claimed
that none of its parliamentarians had the courage to go
against party chief Sonia Gandhi on the Lokpal issue.
As part of their campaign, Team Anna members took out
processions in various prime locations in the city.
On the present Punjab scenario, Bhushan said there was
glaring evidence of corruption in the state and people were
not happy with the SAD-BJP government.
To a question, he said Team Anna was never in favour of
elections being contested in the name of religion, caste and
creed as it was an unhealthy practice adopted by various
political parties.
On the Jan Lokpal Bill proposed by Team Anna, Sisodia said
under it, CBI would be given full autonomy as it could work
freely without any pressure and even would not come under the
purview of the Prime Minister.
The team members said Jan Lokpal Bill would protect the
interest of hapless farmers "whose agriculture lands were
being forcibly acquired by the government at throwaway prices
to further sell at sky-high prices to multinational
companies."
Earlier in the day, Team Anna members visited the Golden
Temple and Jallianwala Bagh.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 22:21