Team Anna apologises over Manmohan 'transgender' remark

New Delhi: Team Anna on Wednesday apologised for a remark made against Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying there is a difference of opinion within the team.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, a senior member of the core group of anti-corruption activist, Anna Hazare, had likened Singh to Shikhandi, a transgender figure in the Hindu mythology Mahabharata.

“Some people had raised questions about the language used by Prashant Bhushan. We apologise for that. There’s difference of opinion on Prashant Bhushan’s Shikhandi remark in Team Anna,” Arvind Kejriwal, a senior member of Team Anna said.

Team Anna, however, reiterated its demand for in independent investigation into controversy surrounding Singh’s alleged involvement in the coal blocks allocation scam.

Addressing a press conference yesterday, Kejriwal said an investigation was needed to find out the real beneficiaries.

Kejriwal said it was not a fight against Singh. “There is no need for a change in the law to auction coal blocks but the Prime Minister’s Office insisted and preceded with giving away the coal blocks. This has led to huge loss to the country,” he added.

The charges against Singh and 14 other senior federal ministers were raised on Saturday by Team Anna. They have since been demanding Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the allegations of graft against Singh and other ministers including finance minister Pranab Mukherjee. Team Anna has fixed a July 24 deadline failing which they intend to go in an indefinite hunger strike and country-wide agitation.

‘I’ll quit politics’

The prime minister on Tuesday reacted sharply to the Shikhandi remark saying, “To use such words, which have been used without reason or rhyme, I think the public in India should make up its mind whether this sort of politics will rule the roost in the country.”

Singh also offered to quit politics if proven guilty. “I will give up my public life if allegations are proved against me. My long public career as finance minister, as leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha and now as prime minister has been an open book,” Singh said.

According to Kejriwal, they have based their allegation against Singh on the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report.

“We would be happiest if the allegations against the prime minister are proved wrong. But for this, there should be an investigation. According to CAG report there has been a scam. The prime minister may not have been the beneficiary but someone has taken the benefits and that needs to be probed,” Kejriwal said, while Bhushan added that tSingh himself may not have taken bribes but he did allow his ministers to loot the public exchequer.

Kejriwal also said they had utmost respect for the prime minister and hold no grudges against him.

The leaked CAG report suggests that Singh, who headed the coal ministry, over-ruled advice to auction coal fields between 2005 and 2009 which benefited private companies and the government lost Rs1.8 trillion (Dh117.58 billion).