Team Anna's bad press

The anti-corruption crusader who heads the India Against Corruption had a brush with controversy for his "flagellate alcoholics" remark when he revealed how the people in his village treated alcoholics by tying them to poles and then flagellating them. 

He raised eyebrows once again when he said "only one slap?" on the issue of Sharad Pawar being slapped.

Earlier, the IAC ran into trouble when it was found that the donations meant for its fight against corruption were being diverted to the Public Cause Research Foundation (PCRF), headed by Arvind Kejriwal. 

Kejriwal, an Indian Revenue Service officer and a Magsaysay Award winner, took study leave on full pay for two years from November 1, 2000, after signing a bond that he would return the salary if he resigns or retires or fails to resume duty within three years of his study leave. He rejoined on November 1, 2002, but took non-paid leave after 18 months, which the department said was in violation of the bond.

Kejriwal, however, said did not violate any bond provisions and resigned from the job in 2006--three years after the stipulated time of rejoining duty following his study leave.

The resignation was not accepted and the Income Tax department issued a notice to him to repay dues worth more than Rs 9 lakh. On November 3, 2011, Kejriwal cleared his dues by sending a cheque worth Rs 9,27,787 to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The former IPS officer landed in a controversy when her name figured in two alleged scams. Bedi was accused of submitting inflated travel bills to her hosts even though she was travelling economy class. She defended herself saying the excess amount went for the education of the poor children.

In another complaint, two trusts run by Bedi were accused of "siphoning off money" from a computer training scheme meant for children and families of para-military and police personnel. Taking cognisance of the complaint, a Delhi court had ordered the Delhi Police to register an FIR to probe the complaint.

"Having been a cop, I have sound evidence and endurance to deal with this FIR. Time will tell. Fact of life is that things happen to those who do more," she had said soon after learning of the FIR. 

The 72-year-old activist was in the eye of a storm soon after Hazare's hunger strike when a video surfaced in which he was seen talking to an unidentified person asking him to deal strongly with the Gandhian. This led to his estrangement from Team Anna. Later, before entering the Bigg Boss-5 house, he had said that he would apologise to Hazare. His entering the BB5 house had also raised eyebrows. Two days later, when he left the BB5 house, he said that found it a good opportunity to convey his message to the people.

Singh, a Magsaysay award winner, and known as Waterman in Rajasthan, threw a spanner in the works for the IAC when he resigned from the 22-member core group of the IAC saying that he didn't approve of the movement turning political. Singh's resignation came after the IAC's stand on the Hisar elections.

Rajagopal, vice-chairman of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, New Delhi, was a member of the IAC's core group. Sharing Singh's view, Rajagopal resigned saying "it makes no sense to continue as an inactive member".