Anny Kohli


Anny Kolhli and Arvind Kejriwal

Anny Kohli, also "Annie" Kohli, from Mumbai, is an ex-aide of Aam Aadmi Party founder Arvind Kejriwal. Kohli organised former volunteers of 'Team Anna' loyal to Anna Hazare to protest Kejriwal's decision to convert Team Anna into a new political party.

Anny Kohli sharply questioned Kejriwal's inaction into inquiring into land deals by Team Anna's then Mumbai in-charge Mayank Gandhi who had crossed over into Kejriwal's camp. On 18 November 2012 Kohli was appointed as Team Anna's Mumbai in-charge by Anna Hazare, and she was retained after IAC-Hq regained control of the unauthorised India Against Corruption campaign created by Team Anna impersonators.

Early life

Kohli is a former personnel of the Indian Territorial Army, an irregular Chindit unit, who claims to have been embedded with the Mukti Bahini during the Bangladesh War for Independence from Pakistan, upon an appeal from Indira Gandhi and on the recommendation of Hindustan Republican Army's revolutionary CPI(M) MP "Captain Lakshmi" - Lakshmi Sehgal - who wanted to staunch the flood of Bangladeshi refugees to India in 1971.

Timeline

Kohli's first protest was made on 21 October 2012, and sniping actions continued through all of November 2012 till the Aam Aadmi Party was founded on 26 November 2012. After Anny Kohli's well publicised series of attacks on formation of political party, the Team Anna movement volunteers got polarised between political and non-political factions and on 10 November 2012 Hazare emerged to clarify that Team Anna would continue as a non-political entity and would ask for usage of India Against Corruption brand name being used by Kejriwal.

Digvijaya Singh controversy

Immediately after Kohli disrupted Kejriwal's meeting, Congress Party General Secretary Digvijaya Singh tweeted "If Kejriwal can ask Kumar Vishwas to hold debate then I can be represented by Annie Kohli". This generated an online war with allegations of Anny Kohli being a Congress Party plant to scuttle AAP's allegations in Robert Vadra-DLF scam.

Kejriwal, Annie Kohli bury their ‘differences’

On 24 October 2012, Kohli objected how some members of Kejriwal's campaign were dubbing her "as an agent of political parties" and demanded Kejriwal "clarify his line of action". Kejriwal apologised to her for hooliganism by his volunteers at Mumbai.

Split in Team Anna

  • On 18 November 2012 Kohli was appointed as Team Anna's Mumbai in-charge by Anna Hazare.
  • On 28 October 2012 Kohli opened a blog for Anna loyalists and posted "IAC struggle to continue" saying .. 'the People' will lose faith in IAC. We would continue the fight minus "Kejriwal and Co" or any "Core Committee" (or even ANNA himself) with the message "I AM IAC" (India Against Corruption) ... Annie Kohli
  • On 30 October 2012 Kohli created a website WWW.IAMIAC.COM and posted a long message, titled "IAC Mumbai to expose Team Anna scamsters" describing the split as "IAC swindle", objecting to Kejriwal's decision to return India Against Corruption brand name to its "unknown" proprietors and not give it to Team Anna to use.
  • On 17 December 2012 Kohli boldly sent a legal notice against India Against Corruption Hq. asking for the IAC name to be given to Hazare to continue the campaign.
  • On 28 December 2012 "IAC HQ" filed criminal complaints in Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad, under a draconian cyber law, against Anny Kohli and Anna Hazare for operating the pirate website 'WWW.IAMIAC.COM' and hacking IAC's mailing list.
  • By 13 January 2013 the cyber case was compromised - Anna Hazare renounced all claims over IAC brand name, and the website was shut down.
  • On 18 January 2013 and 30 January 2013 Hazare announced he would no longer work under IAC's "banner" and would do so as Jan Tantra Morcha
  • On 9 August 2013 Anna Hazare announced his withdrawal from anti-corruption work.
  • On 28 Nov 2013, IAC National Convenor Sarbajit Roy revealed in a private email that ex-IAC Kohli continued to be with Hazare's Jan Tantra Morcha and had organised a Gender Gap campaign since 2010 against alleged sexual harassment of IIM Ahmedabad female students and researchers which IAC was taking over from Hazare w.e.f 3 November 2013.
  • On 26 January 2014, IAC Hq. announced IAC retained Anny Kohli as its ad-interim honorary Mumbai in-charge.

External Links

IAC Mumbai official website

References

  1. Anna aide Annie Kohli a part of conspiracy against me: Arvind Kejriwal
  2. Drama as Kejriwal confronted by Anna supporters on camera
  3. Kejriwal dares PM, Sonia to debate, ex-aide challenges him
  4. IAC's Anny Kohli protests Kejriwal's corruption
  5. Former IAC member Annie Kohli confronts Arvind Kejriwal, drama at press meet
  6. Anna retires from anti-corruption war
  7. Who is Annie Kohli?
  8. IAC struggle to continue
  9. IAC Mumbai to expose Team Anna scamsters
  10. Former IAC activist Annie Kohli can represent me in debate: Digvijaya
  11. Kejriwal, Annie Kohli bury their ‘differences’
  12. Annie Kohli and RTI pressure in IIM Ahmedabad

Videos

  1. The Newshour Debate: Sheila-Kejriwal 'power' war Part-1
  2. The Newshour Debate: Sheila-Kejriwal 'power' war Part-2