Congress party hits back, saying Team Anna had converted the movement against corruption into "a personal campaign and personal ambition"
Team Anna member Kiran Bedi yesterday compared Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the blind king Dhritarashtra of the Mahabharata epic, saying he is aiding corruption in the government.
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Not mincing words: Bedi’s attack came after the Prime Minister’s Office turned down Team Anna’s demand for a special team to probe charges against cabinet ministers for alleged irregularities in coal blocks allocation. File Pic
The Congress hit back, saying Team Anna had converted the movement against corruption into “a personal campaign and personal ambition”.
Continuing the attack on the prime minister over irregularities in coal blocks allocation, Bedi tweeted, “PMO clears PM. Did Dhritrashtra in Mahabharat not support Kauravas even after they attempted to disrobe Draupadi? Indian genes/culture? or? (sic).”
“Do or die fast from July 25 for SIT (special investigation team) probe on PM plus 14 cabinet ministers. Tainted team may never give us an expeditious and strong criminal justice system,” she said.
According to Bedi, Team Anna was focused on the Congress party as it alone can give, through the parliament, an effective anti-corruption law —not the opposition.
Her comments came after the Prime Minister’s Office turned down Team Anna’s demand for a special team to probe charges against cabinet ministers for alleged irregularities in coal blocks allocation.
Reacting to her remarks, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid, said, “There are many questions they (Team Anna) must first answer. I don’t think they have a right to ask questions... I don’t think they are being very helpful or good to the democracy in our country.”
“We all felt that they started off with a good idea — the idea of containing corruption or questioning corruption. But now they are doing greatest disservice to this idea by converting it into a personal campaign and personal ambition,” he said.u00a0Khurshid added the country would give them a suitable answer at an appropriate time.
“They (Team Anna) never ask for probe against themselves. We are at least subject to public scrutiny every five years when we go to election... w are ready for any public scrutiny,” he said.u00a0“Every time an honest question is asked about their activities... they start screaming or shouting,” he added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) said that Team Anna has “its own way of saying things but the truth is that the prime minister has failed to check corruption in the government”. “The prime minister is responsible for checking corruption but he has failed to give a corruption free government,” said BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain.u00a0
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