Arrest me if I am anti-national, Anna Hazare tells government

Ralegan Siddhi, June 13 (ANI): Veteran anti-graft activist Anna Hazare has slammed the central government for alleging that his movement is foreign-funded, saying that if the government perceived him as anti-national, it had the means to arrest him.

" Our view is that if we are anti-national, the government has power to act against us," Hazare told media here.

"This allegation has been made, but the nature and the identity of the foreign power has not been revealed. If an ordinary person makes such false allegations, it is a different matter, but it is wrong for them to come from the Prime Minister's Office," he added.

Team Anna, under the banner of India Against Corruption (IAC), had recently accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and 14 cabinet ministers of graft and nepotism. They had also called for an independent probe into the dubious allocation of coal mining blocks by the government during a period when Singh himself held the Coal Ministry.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had reacted sharply to the developments, calling Team Anna 'anti-national' and brazenly denying all allegations, as well as the need for an independent probe.

Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) V. Narayanasamy wrote a letter to Hazare that allegations against the prime minister were based on a leaked draft of the CAG report and reports in the media. (ANI)