Live reporting: Anna Hazare, Mamata Banerjee join hands for LS polls

New Delhi: Gandhian activist Anna Hazare and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee today announced they were joining hands for the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls. Addressing a joint press conference, Banerjee said, her party Trinamool Congress will field candidates for all 42 LS seats in West Bengal and two in Tripura, apart from contesting seats in Assam, Manipur and other Northeastern states. "For the rest of the county, our party will support whichever honest candidate Annaji recommends", said Banerjee To a specific question, Anna Hazare said, "I will never support Modi, nor will I support or oppose Arvind (Kejriwal)". Mamata Banerjee ruled out supporting either the Congress or the BJP after the LS polls. 3:40 pm: Mamata: After elections, we are not going to support either Congress or BJP. We will not be part of any front. 3:39 pm: Mamata (on appointing Lokayukta): After Lokpal bill is implemented there is one year time, we will set up Lokayukta.3:38 pm: Hazare: The Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill is yet to be implemented in the country. Under this bill, Lokayukta will have to be set up within 365 days. 3:36 pm: Mamata (to a Bengal reporter on Saradha Chitfund scam): Whatever chitfund scam happened was since Eighties because of Left front rule. it was our govt which exposed, and sent the accused to jail. Our government gave money to help the poor who were cheated in the scam. Even our MP is in jail for thsi scam. 3:35 pm: Mamata: How many seats we will contest. In Bengal we have 42 seats, there are 2 seats in Tripura. We will also contest in Assam, Manipur and other states. Annaji will tell me which are the honest candidates in other parts of India. He will advise me, and I will then see. 3:34 pm: (question-answer session) Hazare: Neither will I support Modi, nor will I support or oppose Arvind. 3:33 pm: Mamata: We had great sons of India, Gandhiji, Subhas Bose, Rajendra Prasad, Abul Kalam Azad. Annaji has questions in his mind. We will do more meetings with Annaji. 3:28 pm: Mamata: We saved Rs 1500 crore in power sector through efficiency and savings, despite hike in prices of railway freight and coal. The country needs change. I am grateful to Annaji for giving me his blessings. I have come to Delhi only for Annaji to touch his feet. I don't want anything for myself in Bengal. As a simple person, as a country citizen, I want to serve my country. I am not saying this for kursi . I am running my party at the lowest cost. Other parties spend thousands of crores only for publicity. I only do Facebook. Others are sponsoring PR agencies, I don't do for my party. The attitude towards governance must change. There must be transparency and accountability. The nation's money is not for sending abroad. It must stay within our country. We want to make India stronger, but not by selling our country.3:27 pm: Mamata: They took away Rs 70,000 crore in last two and a half years from our state treasury, yet our GDP growth rate is double the Centre's GDP growth rate. 3:26 pm: Mamata: Now they are bulldozing democracy. For the last 65 years, the country is being run like a feudal landlord. They make promises before elections and then forget. How much income tax, sales tax, VAT tax, does one has to pay? 3:23: Mamata: the policy should be that the state should become strong. Central govt's jurisdiction should be clearly demarcated. Who will become PM will be decided after elections. The system is not pre-paid, it is post-paid. We want a stable government. If anybody loves the country, he should think about this, whether we come to power or not. But we must declare the policies beforehand. There are 50 crore shopkeepers. We do not want their families to become poor. That's why we left the govt over FDI. Sometime they say Aadhar card will remain, against they say Aadhar card will not remain. 3:21 pm: Mamata: We have already done 52 meetings at grassroots level with BDOs. No other state has done it. State must have power. Is the work of the Centre only to collect taxes? If anybody opposes, throwing the CBI against them, whether reporters, or media houses, should they be threatened? The actual work is done by states. If states become strong, the Centre will become strong. Like AP CM had to resign, this is not good. 3:19 pm: Mamata speaks now. Mamata: I am grateful for being invited to Annaji's press conference. I heard his entire statement. We had a meeting yesterday. Out of these 17 points, 2-3 points we will iron out, but the rest of the points we are already working on them. Like Land Acquisition Policy, employment-oriented industrialisation. ON rest of the issues like black money, corruption, giving village the priority, or electoral reforms (we want state funding). we want judicial and administrative reforms. You will appreciate we have already started our administrative calendar on some of these points. 3:17 pm: Hazare: I sent the letter to Arvind (Kejriwal) also, but did not get reply. So there is no question of extending support to his party. 3:14 pm: Hazare (replying to questions): I will extend support to all candidates of Did, and even go out for campaign. 3:11 pm: Hazare: Whichever party comes to power, we need to build and exert people's power on government. We want to promote honest people in politics and governance. We will try to build an organisation and by 2019, we will change the face of the country.3:09 pm: Hazare: Nor have I supported any political party, nor will I support any party after the elections. Didi has struggled throughout her life. She has so many physical injuries, yet she is struggling for the nation. Human being do make errors. Nobody is infallible, but some people are there, who do not see much good work done by an individual, but concentrate on criticising for small mistakes. 3:07 pm: Hazare: Yesterday Didi said I am poor, my party is poor. Even Arvind's party is poor. Yet there are 543 Lok Sabha seats. But I think, if not more, if we win 100 seats, we will change the face of India. I want to change society and the nation. I am noticing the people of India are yearning for change. 3:06 pm: Hazare: Didi is working towards changing the system in West Bengal. I know if I support Didi, some people will make criticisms. People throw stones at only those trees which bear fruits. We are ready to face criticisms. 3:05 pm: Hazare: Taxation policy which is robbing people must be changed. I am happy that Mamata Didi has agreed to these demands, that's why I have decided to extend her support. Everybody is speaking of change in power, not change in system.3:02 pm: Hazare: My points include eradication of communalism through law. Education policy needs to be changed. Black money stashed in offshore bank accounts must be brought back. A strong law against adulteration to provide for life imprisonment. A new law for use of national resources and exploitation of mineral wealth.3:01 pm: Hazare: Major amendments must be made in electoral law to prevent criminals into poltiics. Also the inclusion of Right to Reject and Right to Recall in electoral law must be made. In India, rivers are being sold, water bodies are being sold, this will lead to eco-destruction. 3 pm: Hazare: My points include giving priority to infrastructure, every village getting its own power station. People are asking whether Didi, if she comes to power, will have the magic wand in her hand? This is not empty rhetoric. I have implemented this on the ground in our village. 2:59 pm: Hazare: We should focus on agriculture. Big companies are coming to India, and agricultural fields are being grabbed. Police resorts to lathicharge and firing to acquire land of farmers. Development of villages must be given priority. A Land Acquisition law must be brought so that nobody can acquire farmers' land forcibly. 2:56: Hazare: The points include setting up of Lokpal and Lokayukta to eradicate corruption, transparency in governance, a citizen's charter and whistleblower's law. All files relating to governance shall be made public after two years. The nation's planning should be made with village as the unit. Parties are speaking about market economics. Markets cannot transform the nation. Village must be made the administrative unit.2:54 : Hazare: As a chief minister she could have spent her life ostentatiously. But she lives in a small room, without bungalow, without car, without money. In India, the society cannot be served with sacrifice. That is why I have supported her. For the bright future of society and nation, I had listed out the 17 points which can change the face of India. Four months ago, I sent these points in letters to all political parties, but only Mamata Didi replied to that letter saying she was ready to accept all the 17 points. She also wrote, you are talking of 17 points, several of those points we have already adopted, and we are ready to adopt the remaining points. 2:52 pm: I have not lent my support to Mamataji as an individual or a party. I am supporting her ideas and ideology . I am supporting her views about India. I have spent my life for the service of country. I have always thought about the betterment of the country. Didi is the first person I found who is thinking about the country.