Team Anna adopting undemocratic means, says Jitin Prasada

Lucknow, Aug 1 (IANS) Union Minister of State for Surface Transport Jitin Prasada Wednesday came down heavily on Team Anna for resorting to "undemocratic means" to press its demand for a stringent Jan Lokpal bill.

"We have been elected by the people of India for five years and we are answerable to them and not to Team Anna," Prasada said.

In New Delhi, Anna Hazare's fast against corruption continued for the fourth day. Team Anna members, including Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Gopal Rai, have been on hunger-strike since July 25 in support of their cause.

Prasada hinted that Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi would soon be given an important assignment at the national level.

Considered to be a part of the coterie of advisors to the Gandhi scion, Prasada told reporters that the prime minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had envisaged a role for Rahul Gandhi and they would be deciding on the right time to announce it.

Prasada also targetted the previous Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) government in the state and accused it of blocking the state support agreement that was to be signed with the central government, because of which the state roads could not be developed.

He stressed that the Akhilesh Yadav government has taken the first step in this direction because of which some progress has been made towards signing the agreement.

Prasada pointed out that while making and broadening roads, the authorities face many difficulties like acquisition of land, issues like adequate compensation against the land acquired, power poles, shifting of sewer lines and environmental issues.

The union minister added that 1,500 kms of road were being constructed in the state, which included four-laning of Lucknow-Rae Bareilly road, Lucknow-Sultanpur road, Ghaziabad-Aligarh road and Moradabad-Bareili road among others.

Work has also started on four-laning of the highways on the Indo-Nepal border in Padrauna, Maharajganj, Shrawasti, Bahraich, Lakhimpur and Pilibhit districts.