Do attacks on me have your nod: Anna to Sonia

One of the General Secretaries of Congress Party has been making many statements8230; I assume that he has the support of the party8230; Most of these statements are factually wrong,which makes one believe whether his only intention is to create confusion,mislead people and derail the ongoing discussions8230; Do you personally approve of his statements? Hazare wrote to Sonia.

The Congress reacted sharply. Within hours,the party reminded Hazare that in a democracy,everyone had the right to their points of view.

Anna Hazare may have a particular viewpoint but others may have a different view. How can a vibrant democracy like India be subjected to a caveat that you cannot express your views publicly? That will spell the death of democracy, Congress spokesman Manish Tewari said.

If Mr Digvijaya Singh8230; who is a respected leader in the social and political firmament has also articulated his views,has he committed a crime? Tewari asked.

Singh had criticised Hazare for questioning the integrity of voters and for praising Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.

Without naming Sibal,Hazare wrote: After the joint committee meeting,one of the ministers addressed the press saying that the meeting was good. Subsequently,according to many friends in media,he held a private informal debriefing session at his house and falsely accused us of having succumbed to governments pressure within the committee and that we had diluted the law. This was a completely false statement because there were no discussions at all on the law within the committee. His informal debriefing created confusions in the minds of the people across the country. It appears that his debriefing was meant to send a message to the public that we had been influenced. We had apprehended such mischievous conduct and that is the reason we have been demanding video recordings of the proceedings and their release immediately after each meeting.

Sibal denied the charges,maintaining that he had held no meeting with journalists. The statement attributed to him8230; is patently false. No such statement was ever made by Mr Sibal, said a release issued by the ministers office.

It seems that the corrupt forces in the country have united to derail the process of drafting an effective anti-corruption law through the joint committee. Together we have to defeat their designs, Hazare wrote to Sonia.

I would urge you to advise your colleagues not to try to derail the process of drafting the law, he said.

In a separate statement,Hazare said June 30 would remain the deadline for preparation of the draft Bill. Parliament should deliberate and take a decision by August 15,and failure of this deadline will invite mass protests by the people.