Mumbai: Under attack for overcharging her
hosts by submitting inflated travel bills, Kiran Bedi on Monday night
claimed that Anna Hazare has told her that the allegations
levelled against her should not hamper her work.
"Even now he (Hazare) tells me, these allegations
levelled against you, this has happened to me for the past 20
years. Let them say whatever they want to say. Don`t let these
things hamper your work," the activist said in her speech
after receiving Kriyasheel Award here.
Her comments came against the backdrop of allegations
that she overcharged hosts by inflating her travel bills and
that she availed discounts on air tickets using her gallantry
medal. She defended herself saying she did not personally
benefit and that the money thus saved went to her NGO. As the
issue snowballed into a controversy, Bedi offered to return
the money to her hosts.
She said "Is these thorns (allegations) a result of their
sacrifice? This was the same when Anna was fasting for 12 days
and we were worried about his health. But allegations were
raised that Team Anna is doing so with an agenda.
"We asked Anna to tell people whether he was fasting
because we asked him to do so or whether it was on his own
volition. He said the allegations did not matter to him," he
said.
PTI
