Will campaign against Congress if Bill not passed soon: Anna

He is pushing for decision in winter session,else will campaign in 5 poll-bound states.

Changing his stand,Anna Hazare today said he will campaign against the Congress in five poll-bound states if the UPA government fails to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill in the winter session of Parliament.

Let anybody say anything. I will campaign against those who did not bring the Bill. I will go and campaign and say do not give vote to the Congress if the Bill is not passed in the winter session of Parliament, he said addressing a press conference shortly after breaking his 19-day ‘vow of silence’ at Rajghat.

Hazare said if the Bill was not passed,he would fast for three days and then go on a nation-wide tour.

Asked if he would campaign against the BJP,he said he will not campaign for the party. I won’t campaign for the BJP. There is no difference between Congress and the BJP, he said.

However,Hazare praised Uttarakhand Chief Minister B C Khanduri for bringing a strong Lokayukta Bill and said he would honour the chief minister here for his bold step.

On Monday,Hazare had blogged he would campaign in the five poll-bound states if the Bill was not passed but had not named the party he would canvas against.

Team Anna had come under attack for campaigning against the Congress during the Hisar Lok Sabha bypoll with critics saying they were indulging in politics.

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Accusing the government of trying to weaken the Jan Lokpal Bill,Hazare said there was no need for bringing separate Bills on the citizens charter as well as on whistle-blowers.

The government’s intention is doubtful… The government is trying to weaken the Jan Lokpal Bill by cutting it into pieces. All these provisions were there in the Jan Lokpal Bill, he said.

On Team Anna’s campaign against Congress in Hisar Lok Sabha bypoll,he said the Congress candidate lost his deposit because of this campaign.

We did not want to destabilise the government but wanted to send out a strong message that our agitation will continue till a strong Lokpal Bill is enacted, he said.

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Hazare also said his core committee would be reconstituted with representation from all religions,regions,castes and creed and that people with integrity would be included in it.

On various allegations against Team Anna members,he said,There could be some drawbacks but that does not mean corruption.

Asked about his letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh threatening to restart his agitation if the Jan Lokpal Bill was not passed,he said he just wanted to remind the government about the Bill.