'Team Anna have done the nation a great disservice'

If government does not agree to Team Anna’s demand of an SIT to probe 14 of its cabinet ministers, it might call off its fast and is likely to announce its plan to join mainstream politics  by forming a party, Firstpost had reported yesterday. Speaking to Karan Thapar on CNN IBN Dipankar Gupta, sociologist, said that Team Anna have done a great disservice to the nation by diversifying from its one point agenda corruption.

“They(Team Anna) have done the nation a great disservice by diversifying the way they did. If they stuck to the one point programme there would have been much greater contribution to our political system,” Gupta said to CNN-IBN.

“The moment Anna goes about endorsing candidates I think he will lose a bunch of his supporters,” he added.

As there will be different point of views on a candidate, it will lead to contradictions among the members of Team Anna. Such contradictions, according to Gupta, will work the against movement.

“Anna can, like in any democratic society, persuade you and me to vote for a certain candidate or a bunch of candidates, but he would be letting the movement down. There can be different point of views regarding candidates. Therefore Anna should not enter this fray and open himself to different kinds of contradictions,” Gupta added.

Gupta also said that Team Anna should have stuck to its anti corruption agenda as it worked best for them.

“Anna Hazare did well last year because he had a one point programme, it was anti-corruption. And because it was anti-corruption large number of people from different walks of life lined up behind him,” he said.

“But the moment he gave up his fast at the Ramlila ground last year, and announced that he was going into right to recall etc., at that moment he lost the momentum. The time when he was most triumphant was the time of his defeat. He should have struck to the one point programme and stayed there,” he added.