Matters have moved on since Congress spokesman Manish Tewari recently alleged that anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare “was corrupt from head to toe”. Mr Hazare had hit back saying his agitation would continue even if the government accepted his Jan Lokpal Bill in toto, and until his name was cleared of “corruption” charges.
Following three days of unprecedented public support for Mr Hazare, seen in mass mobilisations at several centres across the country, a Team Anna member said, “People have given a fitting reply to irresponsible allegations. A similar smear campaign was launched against Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan. All means were used to discredit their participation in the campaign for an anti-graft ombudsman. But everyone knows the truth now. Therefore, we are not going to waste our team for any purpose other than getting an effective Lokpal installed in the country”
The Congress spokesman had referred to the findings of Justice Sawant commission of inquiry set up by the Maharashtra government. The commission noted that Mr Hazare had appeared to give a free hand to some of his activists in a trust set up by him, leading to their misconduct. It specifically noted that an expenditure of `2.2 lakh from the funds of the Hind Swaraj Trust towards Hazare’s 60th birthday celebrations “was clearly illegal and amounted to corrupt practice”.
When pressed on this, Team Anna cited the findings of the Sukthankar task force, which was constituted to recommend action on the findings of the Sawant commission.
According to them, the task force had stated that the so-called irregularities were not only minor but also technical in nature. Such shortcomings were common among trusts in the rural areas on account of ignorance.