Team Anna’s decision to float a political alternative was welcomed by most parties, albeit with a smirk and questions on who will contest elections for them, who will fund their campaigns and so on. The ruling Congress party termed the Team Anna move as a “face saver”.
There have also been voices of dissent with former member of Team Anna Justice Santosh Hegde saying he doubted the decision.
Meanwhile, Arvind Kejriwal, in his 20 minutes speech, chalked out the broad outline of that will form the basis of the alternative political force.
“This move is not about capturing power but about changing the nature of state power. Our objective is to provide a political alternative that will be realised through an electoral revolution to democratise and decentralise power, and make the power structures more transparent and accountable to the people,” elaborated Kejriwal.
Taking a dig at the Congress without naming it, Kejriwal said, “There will be no high command in this party. Here the masses will select the candidates. We will go amongst the farmers across the country, take their opinion and solve their problems. The organisational structure of this party will not be same as others.”
Retorting to these allegations, Congress said the issue raised by the Team Anna lacked substance.
“Both the issues at this point in time were completely hollow in substance because the Lokpal Bill is before a Select Committee. The allegations were not backed by evidence,” Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari said.
“So, obviously when you paint yourself in a corner, you require a face saver,” he added.