Govt's dirty tricks dept probes Team Anna record, comes up with zilch

In a series of goof-ups, the UPA government led by the Congress Party has launched a hush-hush preliminary inquiry into Anna Hazare and Kiran Bedi’s pasts. Soon after the first episode of Anna Hazare’s indefinite fast for instituting an effective Lokpal bill ended, the government sent feelers to the personnel department of the Army Supply Corps to dig into Hazare’s past. Hazare had joined the Indian Army in 1963 and served as a soldier for 15 years with the Army Supply Corps. [caption id=“attachment_61658” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Manish Tewari and Cong govt is now sitting on information they can’t use.”] [/caption] Sources in the Indian Army reveal that Anna had left the Indian Army in 1978 and such old records are not maintainable in the Army Supply Corps stationed in the Army Headquarters in Delhi. The Army’s record division is in Bangalore, and a rank of Major General was asked to look into Hazare’s records in Bangalore. The Indian Army, sources say, has apparently given its findings: the Army report says that his service record with the Army Supply Corps was ’exemplary’. The UPA government is understandably sitting over the Army report. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari made a desperate attempt to character assassinate Anna Hazare by referring to an eight-year-old Justice Sawant report . He made allegations against Hazare out of context and thus the Congress’ claim fell flat. In the process, however, Manish Tewari himself spilled the beans when he said: “Annaji keeps saying that the Indian Army is investigating into his records. A few days ago, the Indian Army received an RTI seeking past records of Anna. The Indian Army wrote to Anna to find if he has any objection against the Indian Army giving those records to the RTI person. Anna has not replied to the Indian Army’s query to date.” Manish Tewari said this in his press conference and in a way he too confirmed that the Indian Army was asked to investigate into Anna’s past Army record. Not only this.  A month ago, an investigating agency made several checks on fund sources for Kiran Bedi’s NGOs – Navjyoti and India Vision Foundation. On 3 January 2008, Kiran Bedi had launched two web portals – indiapolice.in (for the welfare of policemen’ families) and saferindia.com . Microsoft India, Intel and Infosys are among several organizations, which have provided funds for these two portals. Kiran Bedi’s India Vision Foundation has also gone international. It has two offices in the US, and one each in Australia and Mauritius. The investigating agency is digging out the funding pattern. Also, it has directed the web host (in the US) of Kiran Bedi’s websites to provide logs and emails of the two websites, the sources add.