Team Anna's Kiran Bedi describes Manmohan Singh as 'Dhritarashtra'

NEW DELHI: The war of words between Team Anna and the government grew intense on Sunday, with Kiran Bedi describing Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as Dhritarashtra. Bedi invoked the character of the blind king in the Mahabharata to attack Singh to allege that his 'tainted team' will not give a strong criminal justice system. The comment invited a sharp rebuff from law minister Salman Khurshid, who said a personal campaign will not work and that Team Anna was not being helpful for democracy and the country.

BJP supported Team Anna's demand for a probe into allegations of corruption against the UPA. However, BJP pulled its punches saying that it is natural that the 'taint' would reach Singh as he is the leader, though honest.

This latest round was flared off with a Bedi tweet: "PMO clears prime minister. Did Dhritarashtra in Mahabharata not support Kauravas even after they attempted to disrobe Draupadi? Indian genes/culture? Or?" Bedi's tweet comes a day after the Prime Minister's Office rejected Anna Hazare's demands for setting up a special investigation team to probe graft allegations against Singh and 14 Cabinet colleagues, and the demand to set up a fast-track court to take up corruption cases against MPs.

V Narayanasamy, MoS in the PMO, had on Saturday alleged Hazare was surrounded by 'anti-national' elements and supported by 'foreign' forces. "Do or Die fast from July 25 for SIT probe on PM+14 Cab Ministers. Tainted team may never give us an expeditious and strong criminal justice system," Bedi alleged, a day after she termed the PMO letter as "absolutely wishy-washy".

Reacting to Bedi's tweets, Khurshid said: "We all felt they started off with a good idea. Idea of containing corruption and questioning corruption was a good idea. But today, they are doing greatest disservice to this idea by converting it into a personal campaign and personal ambition. I will quite confidently say that the country will give them a suitable answer when the time comes," the law minister said.

Union minister Vayalar Ravi too questioned the credibility of Team Anna. "I suspect that Anna Hazare and his people are not that innocent and every one of them go to the Magsaysay award, which has been funded by the American foundations," Ravi told reporters in Hyderabad.