Team Anna's decision to launch political party a face saver to end fast: Manish Tewari

NEW DELHI: Congress today said Team Anna's decision to launch a political party was a face saver to end the fast as the issues raised by the activists were "completely hollow" in substance.

"Both the issues at this point in time were completely hollow in substance because the Lokpal is before a Select Committee. The allegations were not backed by evidence," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters here.

"So, obviously when you paint yourself in a corner, you require a face saver," he said to question on Team Anna's decision to launch a political party and end the 10-day fast.

Tewari also appeared dismissive about the political ambitions of Team Anna.

"It was their own decision to sit on fast and it is their own decision to break the fast. The desire to form a political party is also their own. Wishes need not to be commented," he said.

He said there were six or seven national political parties and 26 regional political parties in the country. "There are approximately 1,139 unrecognised registered political parties and if 1140th joins, the more the merrier," he said.

Tewari said right from day one, the Congress and various other political commentators have been saying that the implicit political aspiration manifests itself repeatedly.

"One year down the line after claiming to be apolitical, you suddenly make that leap of faith and become political. For a long time, we have been saying and other people have also been saying that they are not as apolitical as they look to be," he said.

"They are not as apolitical as they look to be or they are not as unaligned as they look to be or claim to be," he said.