Bhushan attack: Team Anna in turmoil
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There is turmoil in Team Anna. The Lokpal lakshman rekha, which was drawn by anti-graft crusader, Anna Hazare is being transgressed with impunity. And this time it is not the much maligned government or the political class doing it. His own team members are responsible. Though the attack on the noted lawyer, Prahsant Bhushan by the goons of Ram Sena is highly condemnable, the reason for the attack seemed to have divided the team.
Bhushan had reportedly advocated plebiscite in the valley and withdrawal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. This apparently enraged the musclemen of the Sena decided to take law into their own hands.
What, however, surprised many was the reaction of Hazare, 48 hours after the attack. He not only distanced himself from Bhushan's remarks but also indicated that the lawyer's existence in the team was under consideration.
Of course, the Arvind Kejriwal led India Against Corruption came out with a clarification, declaring that there was 'no rift in the team', but not many are buying this line.
After the success of the Anna agitation against the government, he and his team members are rapidly diversifying into other areas. The anti-Congress statements in the context of the Hissar Lok Sabha by-polls was the first such foray away from the key plank of corruption. Make no mistake, Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and the Bhushans are products of India's bureaucratic and political system. They are not in a mood to confine their movement merely to Lokpal but intend to expand their Territory; their hidden agendas are now tumbling out.
It appears that Team Anna is cracking up. First it was Swami Agnivesh, who was virtually removed from the group for his alleged nexus with the Cente. Now the Bhushan affair. And former Karnataka Lokayukta, Santosh Hegde, has objected to the team's political interventions.
It is intriguing that Bhushan is being reprimanded for transgressing his brief. But then, who decides the brief ? Hazare, who follows Gandhian principles did not object when Kejriwal described him 'higher than Indian Parliament."
Hazare has also denied his link with RSS. But the has emphasised on several occasions that its cadre was present in big numbers at the civil society activist's fast. No it is not an apolitical movement any more. Rather, it never was.
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