Team Anna to kick start its campaign from Haridwar on Jan 21

Dehra Dun, Jan 19: Team Anna will start its campaign in five election-bound states from Uttarakhand from January 21.

Members of team Anna will campaign for a strong Lokpal bill, against corruption and other issues such as caste and religion on January 21 in Haridwar.

They will also visit Dehradun, Rudrapur, Almora and Haldwani in the wake of the forthcoming Assembly polls in the state.

The team will also visit Srinagar on January 24 and a few other parts of the state on January 27 and 28. Former IRS officer Arvind Kejriwal, former IPS officer Kiran Bedi and Kumar Vishwas, members of the core team, will campaign in the state during the elections.

The team would be visiting all the five states where Assembly elections were due, Manish Sisodia, team Anna's core member, said.

He also denied canvassing against the Congress.

"We will not campaign against any political party instead create awareness among voters against corruption and candidates with tainted track record," Sisodia said.

He said it was high time that the voters should be properly guided to make good use of their precious votes for the right candidates and vote for those with a clean image, good education and background of serving people.

He also appreciated Khanduri for passing the Lok Ayukta Bill, quite similar to the Lokpal bill, as advocated by team Anna in the state.

Meanwhile, Congress has vehemently opposed the visit by the Team Anna saying it was politically motivated and meant to benefit BJP.

"The visit is surely designed to benefit BJP," Surendra Kumar, Congress spokesperson, said.

BJP on the other hand welcomed the visit of Team Anna saying everybody is free to air their opinions in the democratic setup of the country.

PTI