Anna Hazare takes a U-turn, accepts ‘sarkari bill’; Shocked Kejriwal pledges to fight for Jan Lokpal till last breath

December 15, 2013

New Delhi, Dec 15: Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal Saturday expressed surprise at activist Anna Hazare agreeing to the revised Lokpal bill tabled by the government in parliament and said he will continue his fight for the Jan Lokpal bill till his last breath.

Kejriwal's remarks spelled a clear parting of ways between him and Hazare on an issue with which they are closely identified and which helped bring them into the national limelight.

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Both Hazare and Kejriwal had agitated for the Jan Lokpal bill in the national capital. Kejriwal later decided to form a political party and promised to pass the Jan Lokpal bill in Delhi if the AAP formed a government.

Kejriwal Saturday expressed his disappointment in a series of tweets and termed the Lokpal bill tabled by the government as "Jokepal".

"I am really surprised. How can Anna accept sarkari lokpal bill? Sarkari lokpal is a 'jokepal'. Who is misguiding Anna? It is also interesting to see that both BJP n Cong have agreed on this 'jokepal'," he tweeted.

He said the bill does not contain any of the three most important provisions of the Jan Lokpal bill.

"What does this 'jokepal' achieve? CBI has not been made autonomous. CBI will continue to be under govt's control. None of the 3 conditions which were agreed upon when Anna broke his fast in Aug 2011 are there in this jokepal. So why did Anna agree for such a 'jokepal'? Which forces are misleading him? I am really sad," he further tweeted.

"Whatever Anna may say, we will continue our fight for jan lokpal bill till our last breath," Kejriwal said.

Hazare, who has been on a fast at Ralegan-Siddhi in Maharashtra for the last five days for passage of the Lokpal bill, Saturday said he would call off his hunger strike the moment the law was enacted.

Addressing a press conference in Ralegan Siddhi on Saturday, Mr. Hazare said, “I accept it completely. If this Bill is passed, I will end my fast. The Bill will help the poor people of this country.” The activist has been fasting for the last five days demanding that the Lokpal Bill be passed.

Hazare's stance on the Lokpal bill came a day after some AAP leaders Friday attempted to disrupt a meeting by former army chief V.K. Singh at Ralegan-Siddhi.

Soon after Singh started speaking, AAP leader Gopal Rai stood up to interrupt, accusing the former army chief of betraying Hazare at a critical juncture.

Taken aback by the arguments that ensued, a visibly annoyed Hazare virtually asked Rai to "get out".

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News Network
February 11,2020

New Delhi, Feb 11: AAP leader Sanjay Singh on Tuesday said his party will register a "massive win" in the high-stakes Delhi Assembly election, counting for which began amid tight security at various centres set up to carry out the exercise.

Initial trends suggested the ruling Aam Aadmi Party marching ahead, but the Bharatiya Janata Party leaders maintained that their party would win.

The counting began at 8 am and will be held in multiple rounds, Delhi Chief Electoral Officer Ranbir Singh said.

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News Network
January 24,2020

Kochi/Mumbai, Jan 24: Two students who recently returned from China have been kept under medical observation at the Ernakulam Government Medical College here for possible exposure to the coronavirus, an outbreak of which in China has triggered a global health scare.

Reports from Mumbai said two persons there too have been put observation at the civic-run Kasturba Hospital in Chinchpokali, PTI reported.

Health officials said no cases of the deadly infection have been detected.

One of the students being screened in Kerala and both being screen in Mumai have reported symptoms such as cold and fever and has been kept in isolation wards.

The additional district medical officer of Ernakulam, Dr S Sreedevi, said samples of the student’s body fluids would be sent to the National Institute of Virology in Pune for tests.

The youngster consulted a doctor at a private hospital and was referred to the Ernakulam hospital in the wake of the virus outbreak in Wuhan city of China.

A stringent screening system has been set up at the Kochi International Airport to screen passengers who have been in the affected province in China. Persons who have been to Wuhan and showing symptoms of cold, cough and fever are being immediately shifted to the Ernakulam hospital.

All quariantine facilities have been put in place there including an isolation ward and a ventilator.

The other person under observation in Kerala is an MBBS student from Kottayam district who recently returned from his college in China. The district medical office said she has no health issues. She was put under observation as a precautionary measure.

In Mumbai, 1,789 passengers have undergone thermal screening at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for the coronavirus since January 19.

Coronavirus cases were first reported from Wuhan, the capital of central Chinas Hubei province in China.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak in China, doctors at international airports have been asked to screen travellers for symptoms if they are returning from China. All private doctors have been asked to alert the authorities if they observe symptoms of the coronavirus.

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News Network
January 7,2020

Mumbai, Jan 7: Facing criticism from social media and political quarters for holding a 'Free Kashmir' poster during a protest against violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Mehak Prabhu, a Mumbai-based storyteller, on Tuesday clarified that she meant to highlight the restrictions imposed in Jammu and Kashmir and wishes to see peace in the region, adding she had no other motive behind her actions.

"At around 7 pm yesterday, I reached where the protest was happening at the Gateway of India. Like anybody else who believes in democracy, I also joined that protest. We were standing for justice to the JNU students," Prabhu said in a video posted on Facebook.

"I saw a bunch of people who were painting placards on every issue like NRC, CAA and for JNU students. There was a placard lying on the side which said 'Free Kashmir'. The first thing which came to my mind when I saw that placard was about the basic constitutional rights of Kashmiris," she said.

Prabhu also said that she was not a Kashmiri and was brought up in Mumbai. She outlined that she was standing with a flower in her hand and asserted that the entire matter was "completely blown out of proportion".

"I was quietly standing with a flower in my hand. This means we need to make peace together. That was my only intention in holding that placard. The narrative that has been put out is absolutely wrong," she said, describing the reactions to the matter was "crazy".

The Mumbai-based storyteller underlined that the incident is scary and urged the people to spread the words of what she said and not hatred.

"The way it has gone, it is very scary. I am a simple person. As a woman, it is very scary for my safety right now. Spread this side of my story and let's stop it here. Let us not spread the hate. It has happened to me, it can happen to anyone. We should not live in fear," Prabhu further said.

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