New Delhi: Upset over Congress leaders calling him a mask of BJP and RSS, Anna Hazare on Sunday told
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that party leaders and ministers
were "telling lies" to defame him and dared them to make
public any evidence to prove it.
In a three-page letter, Hazare said such remarks were part
of a "conspiracy" to defame him and ensure that those people
who supported him during the April protest did not do so in
future.
A "hurt" Hazare said, "I request you to ensure that
responsible leaders from your party should not resort to
character assassination and mislead people on the Jan Lokpal
Bill.
"If the Congress party has any concrete evidence (to prove
the allegations), please make it public," he said.
He also said it did not augur well for the country if
responsible leaders start "telling lies only to clinch to
power" by misleading people on issues.
His letter came in the backdrop of Congress general
secretary Janardhan Dwivedi dubbing him as a "mask" of BJP
while other leaders attacked the civil society on Lokpal Bill.
"If the responsible leaders in the party and government
resort to spreading lies, it is not good for the future of the
country. Many senior leaders in your party have said that I am
a mask of BJP and RSS. In the 73 years of my life, I have
never gone close to any party or front because there is
corruption everywhere," he said.
To buttress his point, he said he had criticised the
Gujarat government for corruption and asked, "Had I been
associated with BJP, I would not have talked about such
things".
Hazare had earlier kicked up a controversy by praising
Modi for development works in rural Gujarat.
PTI
First Published: Sunday, June 12, 2011, 21:57