The party will put details of donation and expenses on the website and will challenge other political parties to do the same
Nine days after their fast the anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare and other members of Team Anna ended their agitation on Friday at Jantar Mantar. Promising to give a political alternative to the country, team Anna announced to form a political party.
General VK Singh offered a glass of coconut water to Anna and other members to end their fast.
Addressing the gathering Anna said he would back his team's party, but clarified that he would not contest elections. He also said he will travel across the country to make people aware to choose the right candidate.
Anna said he will keep fighting until his last breath. "Only twice all the political parties have agreed on any issue in the parliament. First when they all demanded increment in their salaries and second when all agreed not to bring Lokpal," Anna said.
Arvind Kejriwal, who has faith that the country will change in the next three years, said the team’s objective is not to win election but to challenge the existing political parties. He said the party will not be headed by any high command and the manifesto will not be prepared in the air conditioned rooms. "We will go and ask farmers, the youth and others about problems they face and they will make manifesto for the party."
He added that whatever donation the party will receive and the expenses details will be put on the website and the party will then challenge other political parties to do the same. Kejriwal said UPA kept losing in all the state assemble elections but still did not bring the Lokpal Bill. "This is because 15 of its cabinet ministers are corrupt and the day Lokpal will pass they will have to go to jail," he added.
Kejriwal also said that if the government had agreed to their demands of right to recall, right to reject and empower village councils then they would not go for a political alternative. He denied that they had broken their fast because the government had not approached them to call off their fast.
Manish Sisodia said government has killed democracy and if the team would have continued sitting on fast police could have picked them and send them to a hospital. He said ending the fast of the team should not be taken as a step back from the agitation. "We had a second option of taking this revolution from road to the parliament. It will not be an easy journey and we will face the challenge to bring people out of religion and caste. We are entering politics not to play it but to change it by giving a political alternative to the people."
While Kejriwal appealed to the people not to sell their vote in the name of religion and caste and to vote for the person who is not corrupt. He said they alone can't make the difference and a combined effort is required to bring the revolution.
The wheel completed a full circle for Anna and his team which started its first fast at Jantar Mantar to demand a Janlokpal bill in April last year. On Friday, from the same spot, they announced to take their agitation from ‘road to parliament’. The team got huge support from people present at the venue who shouted slogans ‘Anna tum sangharsh karo, hum tumhare saath hai’ to welcome the team’s next step.