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Anna Hazare Health: Seventh Day at Ramlila Maidan

The team of doctors checking health condition of social activist Anna Hazare thrice a day said that Anna has lost 5 kgs. weight during the last seven days. Doctors, however, said Mr Hazare is fine. Mr Hazare's close aides were worried over the condition of his health. "He has lost five kilograms in the past seven days. His weight has come down to 67 from 72 kg. His blood pressure is 130/80 and pulse rate 90," close associate Manish Sisodia told. "Doctors say his health is okay but we are worried," he said. Another associate Arvind Kejriwal said the ketone level in Hazare's blood and urine has risen slightly. Activist Kiran Bedi said Anna has not eaten for seven days but no one in government seems concerned.      

Chiranjeevi is Now a Congressman

Tollywood megastar turned politician and chief of Praja Rajyam Party Mr. K Chiranjeevi has formally become a member of the Indian National Congress Party. With this the long awaited process of PRP-Congress merger has been formally completed. The PRP Founder chief K Chiranjeevi along with his party MLAs and senior leaders arrived in New Delhi on Friday to complete the Congress-PRP merger process. Chiranjeevi was welcomed in to the Congress by AICC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi, Union Health Minister and  AP state party affairs incharge Gulam Nabi Azad and host of other senior Congress leaders at an event at the Congress headquarters today. As AP incharge, Gulam Nabi Azad briefed the media about Mr. Chiranjeevi and asked the DCC president of Chittoor district, who was ready with the membership book, to enrole Chiranjeevi as a Congress member. After completing the membership formalities, Chiranjeevi said that he was happy about taking Congress membership in the presence of Rahul Gandhi. Besides, he said, it was a momentous occasion to join the Congress on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister late Rajiv Gandhi. To a query, Chiranjeevi hoped that 'justice' (implying that important posts in the state cabinet and various corporations would be offered to PRP leaders) would be meted to his partymen after completion of the merger process. "It is my honour to be a part of (the) Congress party. I will be an active worker of party," he said.      

TRS MLA Pocharam Srinivas Reddy Arrested

TRS MLA Pocharam Srinivas Reddy, who announced that he will block the unveiling of Rajiv Gandhi statue at Banswada in Nizamabad distict today, was arrested by the police. The unveiling ceremony was to be attended by minister Sudarshan Reddy and MP Madhu Yashki Goud. Mr. Srinivas Reddy was holding a meeting with three to four hundreds of his followers at his residence, when police cardoned off the area and took him in to custody. First the police tried to keep him under house-arrest, but in view of the resistance offered by his followers, Pocharam was taken to Pitlam police station. Speaking to media over phone, Mr. Srinivas Reddy said that he wanted to stop unveiling of Rajiv Gandhi statue because Smt. Sonia Gandhi has gone back on the word she has given through P Chidambaram on December 9, 2010. Union Home Minister P chidambaram on that day declared that the process of carving out a separate Telanagana state would be started very soon, but later has gone back on it. "How can we the people of Telangana can allow the statue of a person to be installed on Telangana land, whose wife has gone back on her word and triggered 700 suicides," questioned Mr. Reddy.

Anna's Jan Lok Pal Bill May Come up in Winter Session

India Against Corruption crusader Anna Hazare has been demanding that the government bring the Jan Lokpal Bill (Drafted by his team), or make amendments to its Lokpal Bill to include elements from his team's Bill. Anna is currently continuing with his fast at Ramlila Maidan protesting against the government introduced bill. Incidentally, Independent Rajya Sabha member Rajeev Chandrasekhar submitted a copy of Anna's draft Bill as a Private Member's Bill for tabling on August 8. The Chairman of the Rajya Sabha can scrutinise the Bill and send it to President Pratibha Patil for consent. If she gives her nod, it can be taken up in Parliament after a month. The Monsoon session ends on September 8, exactly a month from the day Mr Chandrashekhar submitted the Bill. But Private Members' Bills are taken up for discussion in the Parliament in the second half of every Friday and since September 8 is a Thursday, Anna's bill will miss tabling by a whisker. Hence, a discussion on it would only be possible in the Winter Session. If the government comes down and introduces Anna's Jan Lok Pal bill also in the ongoing Lok Sabha session, concurrent discussions on two sets of the same bill may not be possible to be concluded by September 8. In that event also, Anna's Jan Lok Pal Bill has to wait till the commencement of winter session of the Parliament.  

Anna Hazare Leaves Tihar Jail to Fast at Ramlila Maidan

The India Against Corruption crusader Anna Hazare left Tihar jail to continue his fast at Ramlila Maidan for up to two weeks demanding bringing in of Jan Lok Pal Bill in place of government drafted Lok Pal Bill. Large crowds of people, many of whom had kept vigil outside Tihar Jail since Tuesday morning when Mr Hazare was arrested as a preventive measure, greeted him with loud cheers when he came out of the prison around mid-morning. Thousands of people lined the streets and large numbers had gathered at Raj Ghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, where Mr Hazare stopped on his way to Ramlila Maidan. Addressing them, Mr Hazare vowed that he would continue the fight for the Jan Lokpal Bill, his version of the proposed anti-corruption legislation, to rid India of the evil. "I thank the people who have supported the protest against corruption. We have not achieved real freedom even after 64 years of Independence," he said.            

Lok Pal Bill: Is BJP Trying to Overtake Anna Hazare

A lot of turmoil pertaining to bringing out a strong Lok Pal Bill is going on in and outside the Parliament. With the UPA government led by Smt. Sonia Gandhi already presenting a draft Lok Pal Bill in the Parliament, team Anna Hazare took to the streets demanding the government to replace it with 'Jan Lok Pal Bill' drafted by the civil society. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Varun Gandhi said he would introduce the Jan Lokpal Bill, drafted by Team Anna, as a private member's bill in the Lok Sabha on Friday. "I have discussed the issue with the Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj. I hope this way I would be able to make a small contribution towards the legislative process. I hope the bill would make powerful people accountable. I am not arguing that this is a perfect piece of legislation but better than anything the nation has seen before. I thought rather than agitating, I would make a small contribution in my own way," Varun said in an interview given to a channel. On the other hand, Anna Hazare chose to go on a 15 day fast instead of testifying before Parliamentary Standing Committee, which is scrutinizing the government introduced draft bill. In case Varun Gandhi's 'private member' bill is introduced tomorrow, invariably it will also be subjected to the scrutiny by the Standing Committee. If the Standing Committee selects government's bill among the two, certainly BJP would protest the move in support of it's member. The issue will get transformed into - two sets of Parliamentarians presenting two different sets of bills. Then, what locus standi would Anna and his team will be left with?

Galilo Kalisipoyina Chiranjeevi PRP....

At last the day has been fixed for the Praja Rajyam Party to merge with Congress. While PRP chief Chiranjeevi is becoming a Congress member on 20 August at Delhi, his party members would follow suit at Gandhi Bhavan, Hyderabad on 22nd. Remember, at the launch of the party three years ago, Chiranjeevi bragged about bringing 'maarpu' in the State. We wonder, what 'maarpu' was Chiranjeevi talking about! The accusations of his close associates are that "dilli gallilo party ni kilo la lekkana ammesaadu", is perhaps the 'maarpu' he was speaking about. It was late N T Ramarao, who 'Created History' by switching over to politics from the silver screen, but Chiranjeevi, who tried to emulate him, just became a part of 'History'.

Andaru Dongale....

Andaru dongale.... mari EMAAR ne enduku tappu padutunnatlu? All the political parties in the state are finding fault with each other and projecting EMAAR properties as the lone culprit. It is everybody's knowledge that while one party prepared the sketch for EMAAR scam, another implemented it successfully. It is an open secret that a former PCC chief, former political advisor, former chief minister who ruled over state for 9 years  received huge kickbacks for facilitating EMAAR to swindle thousands of crores of public money. Even their kith and kin acquired plots in EMAAR ventures for free or for peanuts. Now the lid is off and these guys are trying to wash off their hands by blaming each other. But nobody is interested in taking care of the poor farmers, whose lands have been acquired by EMAAR MGF long back and no compensation has been paid so far.  

YSR Death: Jagan Camp Suspects Congress Hand

A day after the CBI stated that the death of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was accidental, the Jagan camp upped the ante against the investigation's claims on Wednesday by saying that the late CM was murdered by top bosses in Congress. Jagan loyalist MLA Gurunath Reddy said in Anantapur that a proper investigation would unravel the role of top Congress brass behind the death of YSR. He said people would not keep quiet if the government merely washes its hands of the issue by laying the blame on the officials of AP Aviation Corporation Ltd. "By putting the blame on the Aviation Corporation officials, the government and CBI cannot hide the critical role played by some Congress leaders behind the murder of YSR," he alleged. YSR Congress spokesperson Roja said that chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy was aware of the 'forces' that were behind the murder. "People of the state have several doubts about the circumstances that led to the death of YSR. The CM owes an answer to the people,” she said in Guntur. Senior leader Ambati Rambabu said there was a conspiracy behind the murder of YSR. Joining the issue, former minister Konathala Ramakrishna said in Vizag that the probe by CBI was incomplete. "A fullfledged enquiry by a SC judge would clear the air on the circumstances that led to the crash of the chopper in Nallamala forests two years ago," he said.

Civil Society Split Over Anna's Protest

The Team Anna versus government deadlock seems to be over for now. Anna Hazare has been given the go ahead to fast for 15 days at Ramlila Maidan. But the civil society is split over whether his method of protest falls in the category of blackmail. Apart from Anna's team, no one's come out to support his version of the Lokpal Bill, not even the political Opposition. Anna Hazare's supporters loudly expressing that they have complete faith in Anna, his methods and the Jan Lokpal Bill. "We want the Jan Lokpal Bill to be passed. That is the only condition and till the government accepts it, we won't agree," said a supporter. But there are equally vocal differences in civil society about Anna Hazare. There are those who feel Hazare's threat of a hunger strike is nothing short of blackmail. The National Campaign for Peoples Right to Information which has drafted its own version of the Lokpal Bill says that Team Anna's draft is not the only way to fight corruption. "It will take several years of fight and struggle to be able to change the situation. People will have to fight for many years no matter what the law is," said Nikhil Dey. Others say Anna Hazare's agitation is only undermining Parliament. "This is a democratically elected Parliament and anyone who challenges it, please be wary of them," said Nandita Rao. And still others feel that Anna is simply a front for the Hindu rightwing groups. "We have seen what the RSS has done in this country," said Shabnam Hashmi. Writer and civil activist Arundhati Roy is scathing about the arrest of Anna but says it's naive to think that Lokpal will solve corruption problem. "It is absolutely outrageous what the government has done and mysterious as well. I don't know what is it so insecure about," said Arundhati Roy. In the poll conducted by a popular channel across 19 states and 20,000 respondents, it was found that only one third of Indians have heard about the Jan Lokpal Bill and only one fourth have any idea what the bill is about. So the Anna Hazare movement could well be one based mainly in the TV viewing educated urban middle class. The numbers on the street may be growing but scepticism is also growing about this so called second freedom movement. "I think this is all absurd language about the second freedom struggle and third freedom struggle" questioned Kumar Ketkar. For some Anna may be Gandhi, but others say, it takes more than just a topi and media attention to become a true Mahatma.

Anna Hazare Agrees to 15-Day Fast

Two days after the Indian government arrested an anticorruption activist, Anna Hazare, to keep him from starting an indefinite hunger strike, the authorities agreed to permit him to stage a 15-day fast in a park in the capital, New Delhi.The Delhi police gave the permission for a 15-day fast at at Ramlila Maidan on Wednesday night. The compromise came after late night talks between Team Anna and Delhi Police Commissioner BK Gupta. Anna Hazare is likely to leave Tihar Jail post noon once he undergoes a complete medical check-up.   A 15-day fast has been agreed upon but considering Anna's age, the Centre is worried. The Centre's been keeping an eye on his health. Both the government as well as private doctors have been monitoring his health. Team Anna member Kiran Bedi has reportedly said Anna's health is fine. According to Team Anna, the Gandhian has been fasting at Tihar as his supporters camped outside the jail.  

CBI Getting Ready to Raid Jagan Properties

Jagan Mohan Reddy's legal troubles over his considerable fortune are escalating. The CBI, which is investigating the influential MP's massive wealth, has reportedly asked a court for permission to search Mr Reddy's properties. Mr Reddy is one of India's wealthiest politicians. In April this year, he declared assets worth Rs. 365 crores. A case has been filed against him by rival politicians led by minister P Shanker Rao who is from Mr Reddy's former party, the Congress. Mr Reddy launched his own party, the YSR Congress, earlier this year. The case against Mr Reddy alleges that his businesses profited vastly when his father, YSR Reddy, was Chief Minister. YSR died in September 2009 when his helicopter crashed. He was then head of the Andhra Pradesh government. Jagan Mohan Reddy's disenchantment with the Congress was triggered by the party refusing to name him as the new Chief Minister. The CBI has filed an FIR with a local court asking for sanction to search Mr Reddy's homes and offices. The investigation into Mr Reddy's wealth was sanctioned by the Andhra High Court. Mr Reddy has appealed to the Supreme Court to stop the inquiry.

Chandrababu Too Courts Arrest in Support of Anna Hazare

Telugu Desam Party president N. Chandrababu Naidu criticised the Centre for what he called as "vindictive measures" against social activist Anna Hazare who is championing the struggle against corruption. Mr. Naidu, along with his party leaders and activists, staged a dharna in front of Mahatma Gandhi’s statue in Secunderabad on Wednesday. He courted arrest in protest against the detention of Mr. Hazare and called upon the party cadre and people to stage jail bharo protesting against the Centre’s action. Mr. Naidu, while addressing participants in the dharna, wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to apologise to the people for the actions of his Government in detaining Mr. Hazare. He should, in fact, lead the country in the fight against corruption and not give an impression that "he is supporting the corrupt elements". The Telugu Desam president said a majority of the problems would be solved if an effective legislation is enacted against corruption. The Lokayukta in Karnataka set a benchmark in registering cases against the Chief Minister and efforts should be made to bring the Prime Minister’s Office under the purview of the Lokpal. "After the freedom struggle, another struggle is needed, this time against corruption to achieve economic independence," he said, exhorting people and NGOs and youth to join the movement.      

Anna Arrest: PM's Statement in Parliament

Making a statement in the Lok Sabha on the Anna Hazare issue, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh defended the arrest of the social activist. The Prime Minister said that Anna refused to accept six out of the 24 conditions put forward by the Delhi police. So the police had to take him in preventive custody. He had to be later given seven days of judicial custody by the magistrate. However after 12 hours they were all set free on Tuesday evening. The Prime Minister also said that the government has used minimum force till now to maintain peace. He also said that he did not expect events of Tuesday to be repeated on Wednesday. The Prime Minister said that the prerogative of making a law was that of the government and Anna was trying to impose a view of a small section of people on the Parliament.      

Fasting Anna Reluctant to Leave Tihar Jail

Anna Hazare is still at Tihar Jail, having spent the night there, and is adamant that he shall not leave till he is given unconditional permission to fast at Delhi's Jaiprakash Narain Park. "Anna said that he left home to go to JP Park to conduct his fast and that is exactly where he would go from here (Tihar Jail). He has refused to be released till he is given a written, unconditional permission," Manish Sisodia, Anna's close aide told media outside the Tihar jail just before sitting on a dharna right outside the jail. Adding weight to Anna's defiance are core members of his team - Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan and Swami Agnivesh - who will launch a protest outside Tihar Jail on Wednesday morning. Many supporters camped outside the jail overnight to show solidarity with Anna's cause. Many more have been gathering there since early morning, as they have been at Chhatrasal Stadium in north Delhi, which was deemed "jail" by Delhi Police yesterday to hold the over 1000 anti-corruption protesters detained in the Capital. Yoga teacher and anti-corruption activist Baba Ramdev too is Tihar-bound after he meets the President at 11 am to submit a memorandum against Anna's arrest.                  

Anna Supporters Shun BJP & TJAC

Anna Hazare's arrest sparked instant protests across the state. Students and people of all ages and political affiliation came out on the roads to stage protests against Anna Hazare's arrest and support the anti-corruption movement. Emotionally charged youth, workers of political parties and members of civil society rallied behind Anna Hazare's movement for a stronger Jan Lok Pal Bill and protested against his arrest by organising rallies, forming 'human chains' and conducting deekshas in Hyderabad and across the rest of the state yesterday. Youngsters and civil society representatives alike, coming under the banner of 'India Against Corruption', sat on a day-long dharna near Indira Park here demanding a stronger Jan Lok Pal Bill. They also demanded immediate release of Hazare and all his supporters who were arrested in Delhi prior to their fast. "Reject Government's Lok Pal Bill, Demand Jan Lok Pal Bill," read a slogan as youngsters with banners and slogans rallied near the Dharna Chowk as civil society representatives sat on a dharna. The youth vented their anger on the government for launching a smear campaign against Anna Hazare and for the swoop-down on his team. "The government has shown that it is corrupt and it does not want to end graft by levelling allegations against Anna Hazare. If Anna Hazare is really corrupt or dishonest, let the government prove it and punish him," said a protester. The anti-graft volunteers wanted to make the protest non-political and made it clear when BJP senior leader Bandaru Dattatreya visited the venue. He was greeted with slogans of 'Go Back, Politicians' forcing him to make a hasty retreat. Mild commotion took place when Telangana Joint Action Committee (TJAC) chairman M Kodandaram visited the venue to extend his support. The civil society representatives picked up an argument with Kodandaram which ended up in a mild commotion as the latter's followers came to his support.  

Padmanabha Temple's Nepal Connections Revealed

The recently concluded 'Devaprasanam' at Padmanabhaswamy temple to ascertain 'divine will' through astrological examination, revealed that the shrine has some integral connections with Nepal as 'salagramam' stones from the Ghandaki river were used to make the presiding deity's idol. The Travancore royal house, for which Sree Padmanabha is the family deity, also has associations with the Pasupathinath temple and the erstwhile Nepal royal family. The main astrologer of the panel Madhur Narayana Ranga Bhat told that in the past some rituals used to be conducted in the temple to commemorate this association. But over the years these ceremonies have not been performed resulting in displeasure of the Lord. The ritual had ascertained that huge riches kept in the shrine's vaults should not be moved out or alienated. The astrologers also claimed there were theft threats to the temple wealth, signalling the need for further increasing its security. The 'Devaprasanam' also cautioned against opening one of the yet to be examined vaults as it is below the sanctum sanatorium, where the idol of Lord Vishnu in reclining posture stands, Bhat said.  

Anna Hazare Had Premonition of Arrest

Prior to the Delhi Police detaining him on flimsy grounds of 'Preventive Detention', social activist Anna Hazare seems to had a premonition of his arrest. Anna recorded an appeal to people to come forward for what he called the "second freedom struggle" in peaceful protest and said a second line of leaders would continue to lead the movement. But on Tuesday morning, this second line and core members of Team Anna - Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Kiran Bedi were also detained and taken to the police mess. Eminent lawyer Shanti Bhushan was detained at Rajghat. A third line of crusading leaders went underground to gather support using mobile phones and social media and surfaced a little before noon to decry Mr Hazare's arrest and to exhort people to come out in large numbers in protest.  In Mumbai almost a 100 supporters have courted arrest. In Bangalore, 87,000 of 100,000 IT employees have signed up to join the India Against Corruption movement.  There is massive support in Kolkata too. In Chennai, Mahatma Gandhi's personal secretary Kalyanam is among about 300 people on hunger strike; 30 people have courted arrest. There are protests in Lucknow and Guwahati too. In the capital Delhi, the supporters that followed Anna's car as he was being taken away vowed to continue their fight against corruption at Rajghat, where Anna was to have gone before setting out for JP Park where he planned to fast. Delhi Police has imposed Section 144 at several places in the capital, including central Delhi, JP Park, Rajghat and Dilli Gate. At Rajghat, the police is not allowing people to gather in large numbers. Any large groups are being disbanded, put in buses and taken away to Chhatrasal Stadium. At JP Park, where Anna was to sit on fast, protesters poured in ready to court arrest. Hundreds also gathered at Chattrasal stadium. Activist-lawyer Prashant Bhushan said at 4pm today, protesters would march from the Pragati Maidan metro station to JP Park. He also announced that at 4 pm on Wednesday, a big march would be organised from India Gate to Parliament House. He appealed to all people to join the march and asked government employees to take mass leave for a day. Team Anna has asked people to wear black bands and to use social media and SMSes to help gather more people.    

Furore Over Anna Arrest in LS, RS

Both houses of India's parliament were repeatedly interrupted Tuesday by protests from opposition lawmakers angry about the arrest of anti-graft campaigner Anna Hazare. Hazare and some of his aides were detained earlier Tuesday to prevent them going ahead with a public hunger strike to demand stronger anti-corruption legislation, despite a police ban on the protest. Opposition leaders demanded a full debate on the activist's arrest, which opposition leader Sushma Swaraj said was unlawful. Arun Jaitley, leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, said the Congress Party-led United Progressive Alliance government was 'murdering democracy.' "The government should rethink its position," said Brinda Karat of the opposition Communist Party of India - Marxist. Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters that she regretted the arrest but campaigners had to obey the law.