By IANS,
New Delhi: Team Anna Friday said they would not campaign against any party in the poll-bound states and their campaign will revolve around land acquisition and for a strong Lokpal and Lokayuktas.
“There will be no campaign against any party, neither will we support any party in the polls. We will highlight the issues of land acquisition, Lokpal and Lokayukta – which have been sidelined by all the parties that are contesting elections,” prominent Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal said at a press conference.
The team will begin their tour Jan 21 from Uttarakhand and move through Uttar Pradesh in February. The other states going to polls are Goa, Manipur and Punjab.
Team Anna also accused all political parties of resorting to wooing voters on the basis of caste and religion.
“On the basis of religion and castes, the parties want to win votes and leave no stone unturned to use money and muscle power. They don’t focus on real issues,” senior lawyer Prashant Bhushan, Team Anna member, told newsmen.
“During our campaign, we have questions prepared for major political parties and separate questions for Rahul Gandhi and Mayawati,” he said.
Kejriwal said all the political parties are the “same”. “Our fight is not against any party but we will urge people to vote for policies and rules rather than a candidate.”
Asked if the movement of India Against Corruption is petering out, Kejriwal denied the speculation.
He said that IAC will not launch a joint campaign with yoga guru Swami Ramdev and hinted that Anna Hazare may join the campaign if his health allows.
“If the discourse in the coming election is changed and people vote for change – that is participatory democracy, we will consider it as our victory,” Kejriwal said in reply to a question.
Charging the Congress-led government of “betraying the nation”, Kejriwal said: “The government has fooled the parliament and the entire nation by not letting the Lokpal bill be cleared in the parliament.”