Nearly 18 months after it took centre-stage with the anti-corruption movement, Team Anna was disbanded Monday by Anna Hazare in order to pave way for the conceptualisation of the “political alternative” proposed by them.
Announcing the decision on his blog ‘Anna Hazare Says’, the septuagenarian said that Team Anna had been conceived to fight for Jan Lokpal and now that the government has shown no will to implement a strong anti-graft law, there was no need for it. The activist added there will be no further negotiation with the government on the issue.
“Today we are ending the work of Team Anna...We have decided to have no relation with the government...the core committee has also been disbanded,” Hazare said in his blog.
The announcement also underlined the rift between Hazare and his associates over the movement turning political. Before leaving for Ralegaon Siddhi, Hazare said: “Team Anna’s job is over. We are separate now. They will form a party. I have nothing to do with it.” The announcement, which came a day after the team met here to discuss their future strategy in politics, caught many of his team members by surprise. However India Against Corruption later rejected the reports of rift.