Team Anna to undertake survey on Jan Lokpal Bill in UP

LUCKNOW: Indian Against Corruption led by Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal will undertake a survey on Jan Lokpal Bill in UP's seven districts, including Rae Bareli represented by Sonia Gandhi, and constituencies of MPs who are on the standing committee scrutinising the measure.

"Indian Against Corruption activists will collect public opinion from the constituencies of MPs who are members of the standing committee on the Jan Lokpal Bill," IAC national coordination committee member Sanjay Singh told reporters here today.

The "referendum will also be carried out in Amethi, Rae Bareli, Varanasi, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Ambedkar Nagar and Mainpuri represented by influential MPs," he said, adding that the standing committee will be apprised of its findings.

In case the result goes in favour of the Jan Lokpal bill and the MP concerned does not support the bill in the standing committee, people will asked to vote against the person in the elections, he said.

A similar survey was carried out by Team Anna in July in HRD Minister Kapil Sibal's constituency of Chandi Chowk where it was claimed that an overwhelming 85 per cent of people had favoured the Jan Lokpal Bill. In Rahul Gandhi's constituency Amethi, the survey claimed 90 per cent support.

Favouring a national referendum on the issue, Anna Hazare had said said the government will have to listen to the voices of people.

Sibal, who was locked in a war of words with Team Anna, had ridiculed the survey, saying he was surprised why the support was not 100 per cent.

Singh said team Anna members, including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas will interact with university students in Lucknow, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Allahabad and Aligarh in the first week of the next month on the issue.