Team Anna backs Kiran Bedi

Team Anna today came out in strong support of Kiran Bedi against whom a complaint of misappropriation of funds was lodged, alleging it was done not for fraud and cheating but for fighting for a strong Lok Pal Bill.

Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal alleged that the complaint against Bedi was "completely fraud, malicious and malafide".

"The complaint of misappropriation of funds against Kiran Bedi is false, malicious and malafide.... It was lodged against Bedi not for fraud and cheating but for fighting for a strong Lok Pal Bill," Kejriwal told reporters here.

At the press conference, Kejriwal also made some comments against the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (ACMM) who ordered the registration of the case but Law Minister Salman Khurshid rejected the charge that there was any government pressure.

"I think it is a very irresponsible statement that judges are under any pressure. Judges may feel psychological pressure of perception that people have of events. They may be self conscious about what the press is going to say. You can't go beyond that and say government would use pressure on the judges," Khurshid said in New Delhi.

Claiming that efforts were still on to defame Team Anna members, he said, "We want to say it categorically that it is a false complaint. The court order is wrong. There is no prima facie evidence supporting this complaint."

Kiran Bedi and her lawyer Somnath Bharti were present at the press conference and interestingly, the former IPS officer did not speak to reporters or take any questions.

Delhi Police had slapped a case of cheating against Bedi for allegedly misappropriating funds meant for her NGOs in line with a court's directive.