In a bid to come out of controversies and charges of irregularities against its members, Team Anna now plans to form a committee to probe allegations against them.
“A three-member committee comprising retired judges and individuals known for their integrity and impartiality will be set up soon to probe allegations against the members of Team Anna,” Mr Prashant Bhushan, one of the key members of the team, told this newspaper on Sunday.
But Ms Kiran Bedi, a key member of the team, who was recently in a controversy for overcharging her host by producing inflated travel bills told this newspaper that the news of proposal for such a committee was new information for her.
“This is a new information for me. I don’t want to say yes or no to this committee before talking to other members of the team,” she said.
Mr Arvind Kejriwal, another key member of Team Anna, could not be reached for comment as he was in travel.
Mr Bhushan, however, said the decision to form such a committee was taken in the presence of Anna Hazare during a meeting of the team’s core members at Ralegan Siddhi some time ago. He added, “The team could not act on it afterwards as we were preoccupied with a lot of other things. However, we are now going to approach retired judges to request them to be part of this committee.” The team is yet to zero in on the judges to be approached.
Asked about the nature of cases that the committee would probe, Mr Bhushan said, “Any allegation against any of the team members can be recommended to this committee unless it is a totally frivolous one.”
Starting from the Noida land controversy against prominent lawyer Shanti Bhushan, the team has had to face a series of allegations in the months since the anti-corruption movement was launched.
Apart from the allegations of some members having a nexus with communal elements, others have faced accusations of committing serious financial irregularities.