Namaskar!
I will be issuing an appeal to the people not to cast their vote to Congress party for the forthcoming legislative assembly elections to be held in five states along with Uttar Pradesh if the government does not pass the Janlokpal Bill in the Parliaments Winter session. When I made this announcement on Gandhi Jayanti people from every corner of the world have been trying to get in touch with me and my associates to know what exactly my stand on the matter is. I want to clear a few things.
64 years have passed since our country achieved freedom. Majority of times Congress has been in power. After attaining ‘Independence’ our country should have transformed in to ‘Surajya’(welfare state in true sense) In real sense there should have been development instead of exploitation of nature and human beings. Nothing of that sort happened. Development today is an illusion created by the government and at the same time people are being cheated in to believing that development in real sense is being carried out (here the party in power does not matter). Corruption has crossed its all limits. Even a meager 10 paise of the one rupee spent for development does not reach the common man. The money disappears before it percolates to the society. It is becoming unbearable for the common man to survive in such conditions. Hence it was necessary that the parliament and the law-making body pass strict anti-corruption laws to curb corruption. Unfortunately the ruling Congress party did not take any initiative. The present laws are not implemented effectively or they do not wish to do so. This became clear when Janlokpal Bill was not passed earlier. That is the reason I resorted to protest and later fasting and now I am forced to take a stand on elections.
The demand to pass Janlokpal Bill which is one of the effective tool to fight corruption is being voiced in Parliament for the last 42 years. No political party has ever shown their (true) support and neither they are interested in creating a corruption free India. The ruling Congress party is more so ever responsible for this state of affairs. As the corruption level rises our country is left with a staggering amount of debt, inflation is on rise, unemployment and economic disparity has intensified thus bringing about a halt to development. The common man is the one who is suffering. If the Congress is unwilling to take strong steps to change the situation, unwilling to pass anti-corruption laws then people should not cast their votes for the Congress party and thereby should not send Congress representatives to the legislative assembly or Parliament. I will surely wait and watch if the Janlokpal Bill is being passed in this winter session. Till then I will maintain my silence. I will give government that is the Congress an opportunity to take action or else will tour all over India raising a storm in its wake.
I want to state clearly that my stand is not influenced by political motive. I am not biased when it comes to extending support to any political party; either in power or in opposition. When I am opposing Congress it doesn’t mean that I am supporting BJP or some other party. They too have not come clean yet. The voters before casting their vote should keep in mind the candidate’s character, his contribution towards the society. People should vote such candidates who always think of the society at large, think of well-being of the country.
Only such people are capable of being elected to maintain the purity of our democracy. They could belong to the ruling party or to the opposition. In this lay the bright future of our country. It is of utmost importance that people remain aware. The ruling party and the opposition fight among themselves rake up issues and create controversies but this is done so as to mislead the common man. When a favorable opportunity for corruption arises they join hands.
26th January 1950, India became a sovereign republic. Subjects became masters and we elected representatives to legislature, parliament, as per the democratic norms. The elected representatives were the servants appointed by the people to take care of the day to day affairs of the state. Instead the servants started behaving as our masters. On 26th January the master went in to a state of slumber and the servant resorted to theft. This plundering won’t stop until and unless the master awakens. An awakening of sort has been created with the fight for Janlokpal Bill. Now is not the time to doze off. We have to stay awake for this is not the responsibility of a single person but the onus is on the nation as a whole.
Jai Hind! Inquilab Zindabad! Vande Mataram! Bharat Mata ki Jai!
K. B. Hazare (Anna)
Anna Hazare Says 
Truly agree with Anna’s views.
Apart from physically trying to bring peace and corruption free India, each and every person should everyday for few minutes pray to God to guide all of us and bring the results what HE wishes to bring.
I pray to all my brothers and sisters of INDIA to take this as a serious suggestion and not just be happy by reading this comment, but also implement it.
Anna Hazar Says – Long Live Revolution
Govt. is passing time & testing patience of the public.
Govt. is doing ” Lip service ” and not serious in making Strong Laws through LOKPAL.
Every time new illusion is created and contradiction is created.
Respected Anna Sahib,
As a vociferous supporter of your campaign against corruption, I have great admiration for you and salute you for making the Lok Pal Bill such a burning issue that it forced the government to act. You even got them to pass a resolution in Parliament supporting your three basic demands.
Therefore, I’m mystified as to why you chose to oppose the Congress in the Hissar elections, even before they have tabled the new Lok Pal Bill, greatly revised, I’m sure, in light of your heroic agitation. Ultimately, a Bill has to be passed by Parliament, and you will need the votes of parliamentarians. They have already agreed to pass t in the Winter Session of Parliament. I wonder why you considered it necessary to attack the Congress, and other key parliamentary parties, even before the new Bill has been tabled or voted upon.
Though mystified by these developments, I remain steadfastly committed to your cause.
My deepest respects,
Kabir Bedi
Hi Mr Bedi,
Many people doubt the intentions without knowing the underlying cause……Its not abt opposing congress or supporting BJP……BJP and other parties should be thanking their stars for not facing Anna’s music.
Certainly passing a Bill is the job of the parliament but the govt needs to show sincerity and commitment in passing a strong lokpal bill. Going by their intentions I doubt they will pass it.
Till yesterday they were saying we can’t amend constitution to implement Jan Lokpal Bill.. Today they are saying they will make it a constitutional body by amending constitution.
So this step to warn congress….we all needs to be united for this cause till the very end.
Thanks
Partha
Dear Anna ji,
Its absolutely critical moment for India, and I understand the message you are trying to give to the corrupt govt. at center. It is clear latest statements issued by Salman Khurshid and others, that congress is not willing to pass a bill which would send half of its ministers to jail and they are using all the delaying tactics they can think of.
अगर सीधी ऊँगली से घी ना निकले तो ऊँगली टेढ़ी करनी ही पड़ेगी !
Absolute unconditional support for you and the cause you are fighting for. This country is so lucky to have a Mahatma like you
hello sir
right to reject is game changer…….kindly go after it.
prati,
Aadarniya Annakaka.
reff. to prashant bhushan sinario today, suruwatila raag aala , nantar shri bhushan yaanche statement Kashmir baddal eaikal . naealajane me tya vaiktila support karto ahe .jya right to recall baddal aapan jiwache raan karta aahata , matitharthatha { actual result }aapan janun aahat , toch vishaya aapala sahakari -vely Rashatriya prana babat mandato . Karma Dharma sayogane tumhi military madhe hota , kiti ani kasha golya khalya aapan , ani roj 400 rupai kharcha hota ahet pratyek bhartiyache kashamir var , tumhi aford karu shakata ha kharch.? in nation we are five but in internation we are 105 reff. mahabharat.Anna far dhukha hot ahe , jo bund se gayi wo houd se nahi aati.
sarang G. kulkarni.
Annaji,
We all know congress’s politics are blame games. This is not first time for you. They blamed Shanti Bushan for video tape case, Prashanti Bushan for IT issues, they are just doing lip service. They don’t want to pass the bill for anotoher 100 years.. yes we need a leader like you. But My suggestion is if you say “Don’t vote to congress” some other political party will come and rule. do you think that party will support Anti corruption bill? Absolutely it sounds like supporting another party instead of Congress in UP. Who ever get on to the chair, the net result is the same.
I totally contradict with Kabir bedi, if we don’t do some thing now, Congress will not pass a strong bill for next 100 years. Whole political community is the same except one or two. No body want to file cases themselves.
Veerakumar
Hi Kabir Bed,
My reply to this is…a movement requires some pressure tactic always. This campaign against congress in Hissar is justified to show, if you do not do, we are going to do the same in next general election which can consolidate the vote against Congress. Ofcourse, the act like this may help some other political party. Especially BJP will be the big beneficiary. Can we do anything for that? Otherthan saying, we are not with any specific party when BJP themself is neck deep in corruption. But, since the agitation is for “Janlokpal”, BJP president given a letter in support of the same. Congress in turn do not support a strong “Lokpal” for which all of us came out of our house and agitated. Congress is still trying to take a dubious stand than clearly committing themself to eradication of corruption that same approach can be seen in their approach to “Lokpal”. But, yes I am saddened by seeing BJP/RSS taking the credit of this movement and trying to sabotage by playing “politics”. Maybe, in near future, people like you and me may distance us from this movement if RSS infiltrate to this movement and take away the cause to their advantage. If BJP commits themself to have a strong Janlokpal, I will say, it is good but, I am equally skeptical of their intention since we know that from their Karnataka approach. My strong conviction is, the ruling class and the ruled were always in conflict historically. My request to all like minded people are, let us be with the “ruled”. The moment we take part in ruling part, our voice will be lost in crowd. As I could make out from Annaji’s response, he is very much aware of this history. All through his life, he never shown interest in power politics. His sharp political sense will be completely issue based and not in favor of any liking of any single person or party’s ambition to come to power and “rule”. He will definitely stand by us who always would like to remain at a higher moral ground with highest authority of being a citizen of India.
Mr Bedi,
Do you really believe Congress will pass an EFFECTIVE Janlokpal bill? JLPB will put them all behind the bars! They may bring a JLPB only with 100 loopholes to escape!
Dear Mr.Bedi,
With all respects to you sir, DO NOT EVER TRUST CONGRESS to align with nation’s fight against corruption. It is the mother of a canker called corruption. The good news is that Annaji and his team have realized the TRUE CHARACTER OF CONGRESS and factored the same in their anti-corruption strategy if I may call so. As I write, Congress is using every DIRTY TRICK to discredit the anti-corruption movement – hurling corruption charges against Annaji on multiple occasions, linking anti-corruption crusade to certain political outfits, attributing political motives to a great soul that Annaji is etc. From media debates I understand that Congress would like Lokpal to be a constitutional authority which may at the outset sound like a great idea will delay the passage of Janlokpal bill in winter session.
The nation trusted congress and voted it to power most of the time. In return congress has been looting the public to the hilt and institutionalized corruption. The only credit I would like to give congress is that they have mastered the art of manipulation and dishing out honey coated glib talks through their media savvy spokesmen.The time of blind trust needs to be over if we need to preserve our future. Congress needs to be SEEN to take CREDIBLE actions in its fight against corruption in general and garner support to pass a STRONG Janlokpal bill in upcoming winter session in particular. What we see instead is Digvijay Singh running amuck with his familiar cock and bull stories while media has been providing an unfair amount of coverage. At a time when congress plays all the mean games it has learnt over the years with the sole intention of defeating the historical anti-corruption movement, we need to be VERY PROACTIVE IN EXERTING POSITIVE PRESSURE that will force UPA to get its act together or perish forever.
श्रद्धेय अन्ना हजारे जी,
सादर प्रणाम
यदि आप भारत के प्रधानमंत्री होते तो देश की हालत ही कुछ और होती, हम देशवासियों की हार्दिक इच्छा है कि आप प्रधानमंत्री बने | आप इस दिशा में अवश्य विचार करें क्योंकि आपका आचार शुद्ध, विचार शुद्ध, जीवन निष्कलंक, त्यागी है एवं अपमान सहने की आपार शक्ति हैं|
इस देश को आपकी नेतृत्व की आवश्यकता है |
भारत आपके आन्दोलन से जाग उठा है |
i am with Anna….
Anna Hazare’s action in Hissar is accurate.
The congress government has not shown in action their commitment to bring in Jan lokpal quickly.There have been lots of hallow sounding words. On the contrary this govt. is trying to gag the printed news by thru wages,the TV news through the five occasions legislation (http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-10-08/india/30257931_1_downlinking-tv-channels-current-affairs-channels) .They have even passed a legislation to gag the internet. As with all similar rules a lot of subjectivity is purposely kept,of the exploitation by the govt. Let us all understand that the elected political parties r not a ruling party ,they r just the supervisory and the leading parties,but as all called them the ruling parties it goes in their head that they r the rulers.
As the mouthed words and the action of the govt r different,on the issue of the Jan lokpal bill the govt should be should shown the strength of the common men,hence Anna Hazares actions are accurate.
Annaji we are all behind you in this fight, we won’t stop this fight until we reach Corrupt free India
My one other idea….we need to regulate the political power in our country than anything else. People should win the elections with their ideas and not because of their DNA.
Before Independence, we had congress presidents every 2 yrs and presidents not by their DNA but for their wisdom and education. After 1965 we had only 7 presidents…literally saying Congresss and its philosophy is hijacked by feudals at ground level and a doggish mindset at the higher level who just want to live and die close to power
The other alternative is BJP is not an alternative for they create insecurity and restless environment for others.
Reviving Indian National Congress (People) driven by ideas, peace, productivity and equal opportunity is my dream. Giving Individual and property rights, free markets, free speech, Less central govt and more local govt and people involvement should be our guiding philosophy. Party leadership position should be for max of 2 years and elected positions max for 1 or 2 terms.
Regulating the powerful is the need of hour, few people (even if majority is supporting them ) cannot and should not over take the rest of nation unconstitutionally. Please regulate the power for ever, imprisoning them is only scare tactic.
Start the third party Anna.
Regards
Sharath
Campaign in election is a BrAhMaStRa and Team Anna can do nothing more than this (‘cept fasting till death). This weapon must be used wisely and Team Anna very well knows that, Congress will leave no stone untouched to delay JLPB. They have used every technique in black book of corrupt and they are now going towards out of box solution. Hissar is a warning signal for Congress and Team Anna not only threat – they actually do something on ground and this campaign is part of it. Congress needed strong message that anymore delay for JLPB will bring more trouble for them and Hissar will play major role in it.
I will not surprise if Congress back track again, Sonia and her Chamchas have to be last person on earth to deserve trust, this sort of pressure absolute necessary and will prove effecting move.
By saying this, Team Anna must have to come out of solution when campaigning. Rather than saying don’t vote for this or that they should point party or person to vote for. They should have checklist and those who fit in that checklist needs to sign undertaking saying they will implement JLPB in first month of power in state. Let locals decide KPI and SLA on their demands and get undertaking if perform below KPI then will not stand for election again. Once you have few candidate agreed on that let them compete with each other. Team Anna has capability to do this.
Dear Kabir Bedi,
I do not think the stand is against congress as such but a message to all political parties that the movement can put electoral pressure on them if they do not get the Jan Lokpal passed.
Congress in this case is the flogging horse as they being in power at the center have the power to change things at present and at the same time they have not made their stand clear.
I have heard you multiple times on TV during the last agitation and I greatly admire your stand. That time, people had accused Annaji of using Mobocracy to pressure the congress. Now we are using our democratic means to give a wake up call that we can rise over cast and religion and vote for good governance.
Thanks
Vyom Khandelia
You and Your Team are awesome, Anna. You guys locked the Congress by Opposing casting votes to congress in these five states. I think this pressurizes Congress very intensively. Let your game keep going. We are always with you.
Respected Shri Anna Hazareji,
Unconditionally we are with your goodself!
Warm Regards,
Sivankutty Nair
हम इस बात का पुरजोर समर्थन करते है की किनारो पर बैठ कर दरिया पार नही होता! हमे दरिया मे उतरना ही होगा ओर सीधा वार करना होगा! कांग्रेस पार्टी भ्रष्टाचार का प्रार्यवाची बन चुकी है, वह जान लोकपाल लाए या ना लाए अब इसका कुछ ज़्यादा अर्थ नही रह गया है! जिस पार्टी के अध्यक्ष व प्रधानमंत्री खुद भ्रष्टाचार के आरोपो पर चुप्पी साधे हो वोहः उनके लिप्पत या भदीदार होने का आभास देता है! कांग्रेस के खुद के मंत्रियो पर कोई करवाई नही परंतु उन्हे सी बी ईं के माध्यम से सुरक्षा कवच देना कांग्रेस पार्टी की नियत पर स्ंदेह पैदा करता है१ कांग्रेस पार्टी के रहते कारगर व प्रभावकारी लोकपाल बिल भी बन पायगा इसमे संदेह है, जन लोकपाल की अभी बात नही करते१ गुजरात के लोकपाल की नियुक्ति मे जो कुटिलता दिखायी गयी है वह इस तथ्य की और इशारा करती है की हमे गिरगिट से लड़ना है जो संकट मे अपना रंग बदल लेती है! हमे कॉंग्रेस या इसके नेताओ से कोई शिकाययत नही है वह तो वही कर रहे है जो पार्टी की मूल विचारधारा है! ६० से अधीक वर्ष आपकी नियत प्र्दशीत करने के लिया बहुत लंबा समय है; इस से ज़्यादा समय देना ना केवल मूर्खता का प्रमाण है बल्कि अपनी मात्र्भूमि के साथ विश्वास घात है!
Respected Shri Annaji,
We are with you.