A day after he slammed Congress leader Digvijaya Singh saying there was nothing political about his campaign,Anna Hazare came out to distance himself from his colleague Prashant Bhushan on the latters endorsement of a plebiscite in Kashmir. Hazare also seemed to have put a question mark on Bhushans continuance in Team Anna but hours later he clarified on his blog that the lawyer was an integral part of his team. This two days after Bhushan,an omnipresent face at Ramlila Maidan,was brutally assaulted by goons of the Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena in his office. I do not agree with Prashants views on Kashmir. I believe that Kashmir is a part of India, Hazare said in the morning at Ralegan Siddhi. Saying that the Jan Lokpal Bill and corruption were his focus,Hazare said: Whatever Prashant Bhushan has said doesnt represent (the views of) my team. And my team is creating a revolutionary era by taking forward our crusade for Jan Lokpal Bill and striving for a corruption-free India. Woh aage jaake hum log tay karenge,rakhna (hai) nahi rakhna (hai) (We will decide later whether he will be in the team or not).What Prashant has said is not good, he told reporters when asked whether Bhushan would remain in the team. This fuelled speculation about cracks in Team Anna prompting another member Arvind Kejriwal and Hazare himself to do damage control. In the evening,Hazare blogged saying rumours were being spread by some sections of media deliberately trying to vilify him and his team. I would like to state here that,except for Prashant Bhushans opinion on Kashmir issue,he is still an integral part of our team, wrote Hazare. Kejriwal,too,distanced himself from Bhushans comments. India Against Corruption believes that Kashmir is an integral part of India. It is a complex issue that needs to be dealt with within the four walls of the Constitution through peace and dialogue, Kejriwal told reporters. Whatever Mr Bhushan has said about Kashmir are his personal views and not of our core committee. Referring to Bhushans assault,Kejriwal said: The way the police refused to act against those who attacked our members,raises the suspicion that maybe they were ordered from the top to not act. We believe these acts are committed to distract us and the country from the main issue,which is the passage of the Jan Lokpal bill. Who stands to gain from doing this is anyones guess. Kejriwal did not mention Sri Ram Sene or Bhagat Singh Kranti Sena,two groups which have openly claimed responsibility for the attacks,though he did mention Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga. After Bhushan was attacked,many of our volunteers spoke to Bagga on his phone for two hours. But strangely,the Delhi police failed to locate him even though the entire world,including TV channels and even our volunteers,were able to speak to him over phone. Delhi police should answer for their inaction. Kejriwal also underlined that Bhushan continued to remain an integral part of our core committee. Anna Hazare never said he (Bhushan) should not remain a part of the committee.
