New Delhi: Congress on Wednesday backed Sharad Pawar
by questioning the Gandhian credentials of Anna Hazare for
justifying the recent attack on the Agriculture Minister and
said any attempt at instigating people was condemnable.
Party spokesman Manish Tewari told reporters that the
basic principle of the Gandhian thought was non-violence and
wondered how could anyone justifying violence be Gandhian.
On Pawar's statement that Justice P B Sawant Commission
had spoken about the maladministration and corruption by
Hazare, Tewari said that the report of the Commission was
self-explanatory.
"The report is in the public domain and for everyone to
read and come to conclusion," he said when asked whether the
Congress shares the NCP supremo's view.
Earlier in a statement, Pawar lashed out at Hazare for
his remarks justifying the recent physical attack on him,
saying any further assault on him would make it amply clear
from where the instigation emanates.
However, in a statement, he appealed to his followers
that Hazare's views and utterances should be addressed
maturely and with restraint and no one should indulge in any
retaliatory violence.
Pawar's statement came in response to a blog posting
by Hazare in which he attacked the NCP chief saying he has an
"old habit of protecting corrupt people" and one should think
why he was attacked.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 07, 2011, 23:13