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Team Anna takes political plunge

By The Assam Tribune

NEW DELHI, Aug 3 � Taking the political plunge, Team Anna today moved towards forming a party to fight the 2014 Lok Sabha polls but Anna Hazare made it clear that he will not launch a party or contest elections, reports PTI.

Ending their ten-day fast at Jantar Mantar, the team declared that �people� will decide on their candidates and fund their elections.

�We will have to throw this government out. It is a long fight. This is not a party. It will be a movement from the streets to Parliament.

�Parliament has to be purified. There will be no high command. People will decide the candidates and they will fund it,� Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal announced to the cheering supporters.

He said they will not draft manifesto in air-conditioned rooms but would go around the country to know about the difficulties of people.

Today�s declaration by Team Anna marks a transformation of the civil society movement which started as an anti- corruption crusade 16 months ago for a Lokpal Bill and ending up with plans for a political run.

The fast, which was ended by former Army chief Gen V K Singh giving cocunut water to Hazare and others, was called off in the light of government steadfastly refusing to enter into a dialogue with them on their demand for Lokpal or a special investigation team of retired judges to probe allegations against 15 Union Ministers.

Endorsing Kejriwal�s declaration for a political alternative, Hazare said he will not launch a party or fight elections.

�I will go around the country for the next one and half years to give an alternative. We have another two years left (for the elections) and I will awaken the people. I am confident that people will support the alternative,� he said.

Justifying formation of a political outfit, Hazare said that earlier when they started the movement political parties taunted them saying you contest elections and come to Parliament.

�Now when we announce that we are taking the political plunge the same parties are feeling threatened,� he said.

Though Kejriwal did not use the word political party in relation to launch of the movement, at another place he said that if a party has to be launched, then they have to decide what structure it should have.

�Our aim is not to take power but to go inside Parliament and transfer power to villages, cities and to the people. It does not mean an end to street protests. The movement will continue inside Parliament as well as streets,� he said.

Raising the question as to where the money would come from, Kejriwal answered himself saying �money is not needed. People will give money.�

The highlight of the day was former Army chief V K Singh�s address to the rally when he said governance has come to an end and has become directionless.

�I thank Anna Hazare and others for heeding to our appeal and ending the fast. Other than the big issue of corruption, the issues which are concerning the nation are black money, law and order, weakening rupee and inflation. There is no governance and it has become directionless,� he said.

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