PATNA: Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has announced the launch of a new outfit,Jantantra Morcha, to spearhead a nationwide campaign for 'vyawastha parivartan', or change in system.
"Now change in system is our aim. The change can be brought about by passing the Janlokpal Billand decentralizing power to gram sabhas and ward sabhas," he told a mammoth public meeting, christened Jantantra Rally, at the historic Gandhi Maidan in Bihar capital on Wednesday.
The social activist said the launch of the new outfit, which would not join electoral politics, marked the beginning of the "second freedom struggle". He would now tour the entire country to awaken people. "I wish to awaken only six crore of the country's 120 crore people. If six crore people are with me, government 'ki naak dabaunga, munh kholegi'," he said and added the government would be forced to give Janlokpal to the country.
Reiterating that the Congress-led government did not intend to bring the Janlokpal because 15 of its ministers would land behind bars and 163 of the MPs were tainted, he said after the demand of Janlokpal was fulfilled, the Morcha of six crore people would force Parliament to empower people with the "right to reject" all the candidates in an election if they were "goondas" and the "right to recall" an elected MP or MLA if s/he turned out to be unworthy. "None of the rejected candidates should be allowed to contest the election afresh," he said and added parties would be forced to give tickets to clean candidates.
The septuagenarian from Maharashtra's Ralegan Siddhi, who arrived in Patna on Tuesday and spent the night at Jayaprakash Narayan's Charkha Samiti home in Kadamkuan locality, made no secret of the fact that he chose Bihar as the venue for his first 'Jantantra Rally' because the "pious land" was the "tapobhoomi" of JP and Mahatma Gandhi. "We have to realize the dreams of JP that have remained unfulfilled," said Anna in an apparent bid to strike a chord with the crowd responding with thunderous applause every time he used adjectives like "goonda", "lootera" and "ghotalebaaz" for "people in power".
In his 45-minute speech, Anna did not name Arvind Kejriwal, his associate who has floated Aam Admi Party to contest elections. Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, however, he had said he was not opposed to Kejriwal joining politics.
Earlier, Anna administered an oath to people for change in system. Former army chief Gen V K Singh and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi were among those who also addressed the rally.
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