New Delhi: Congress General Secretary Digvijay Singh yesterday said he was curious to know who comprise the so-called "Gang of Four" in the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government as described by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare.
"Anna has blogged against Gang of Four? Who are the lucky ones? I am curious!" Singh said in the the microblogging site Twitter.
Hazare on Monday snubbed the UPA government for targeting members of the civil society group. He criticised the so-called "Gang of Four" within the government for allegedly trying to tarnish the image of Team Anna.
Supporting his core team members — Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal — who are facing allegations of financial irregularities, Anna said: "To accuse and humiliate seems to be the mantra of the few. This is not the first time that such accusations have been levelled against Kiran Bedi. Every member of Team Anna had to face accusations and character assassination by the Gang of Four. Who are these people? Those are the very same people who are not in favour of Jan Lokpal Bill."
Ruffians
Hazare went to the extent of calling them ruffians who were killing the voice of the vast majority within the government itself.
"The number of ministers who are opposing Jan Lokpal Bill in Cabinet is a handful. It is similar to a village where there are two to four goons who hold the entire village to ransom. In government there is a majority of people who are righteous, but can't go against these ruffians. Leaving aside these specific four to six people no one points a finger at us," Hazare said.
"I do not blame all the ministers from the Congress party or the government as a whole. There are some righteous and committed people in the government but they cannot raise their voice because of this Gang of Four," he added.
Congress, however, voiced its protest over Hazare's blog.
"The word ‘gang' is very [objectionable]. We have respect for Annaji, We do not expect Annaji to use such words for ministers. If Kiran Bedi is talking about returning the money for inflated air travel bills raised by her earlier to several non-governmental organisations, it means she admits her fault," Congress leader Rashid Alvi said.
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said: "I don't think he used these words for the ministers."
"Anna has blogged against Gang of Four? Who are the lucky ones? I am curious!" Singh said in the the microblogging site Twitter.
Hazare on Monday snubbed the UPA government for targeting members of the civil society group. He criticised the so-called "Gang of Four" within the government for allegedly trying to tarnish the image of Team Anna.
Supporting his core team members — Kiran Bedi and Arvind Kejriwal — who are facing allegations of financial irregularities, Anna said: "To accuse and humiliate seems to be the mantra of the few. This is not the first time that such accusations have been levelled against Kiran Bedi. Every member of Team Anna had to face accusations and character assassination by the Gang of Four. Who are these people? Those are the very same people who are not in favour of Jan Lokpal Bill."
Ruffians
Hazare went to the extent of calling them ruffians who were killing the voice of the vast majority within the government itself.
"The number of ministers who are opposing Jan Lokpal Bill in Cabinet is a handful. It is similar to a village where there are two to four goons who hold the entire village to ransom. In government there is a majority of people who are righteous, but can't go against these ruffians. Leaving aside these specific four to six people no one points a finger at us," Hazare said.
"I do not blame all the ministers from the Congress party or the government as a whole. There are some righteous and committed people in the government but they cannot raise their voice because of this Gang of Four," he added.
Congress, however, voiced its protest over Hazare's blog.
"The word ‘gang' is very [objectionable]. We have respect for Annaji, We do not expect Annaji to use such words for ministers. If Kiran Bedi is talking about returning the money for inflated air travel bills raised by her earlier to several non-governmental organisations, it means she admits her fault," Congress leader Rashid Alvi said.
Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam said: "I don't think he used these words for the ministers."
