New Delhi: Activist Swami Agnivesh, who fell
out with Team Anna during Lokpal agitation, today sought to
give a new twist to the controversy surrounding a CD that
purportedly showed him talking to Union Minister Kapil Sibal,
claiming that he was speaking to a spiritual guru whom he
calls "Kapilji" and not the minister.
"N K Sharma was the one with whom I was talking. I
address him as Kapilji maharaj. He is a religious man and
associated with Sankaracharya of Dwarka Pith and Badrinath and
is also an adviser to Kapil Sibal and the Government,"
Agnivesh told reporters here.
Agnivesh, who was in the Anna Hazare camp, was caught in a
controversy after a CD surfaced purportedly showing him
slamming Hazare and asking Government to be tough on his
agitation.
He had then claimed that the man on the other end of the
line was Haridwar-based Kapil Maharaj. The man in question
had, however, denied that he ever had such a conversation.
Talking about Sharma, Agnivesh today said when the
Hazare's agitation started, "Sharma had come to me saying I
should come forward so that a dialogue process could start. I
tried to carry forward the dialogue process with his support.
"He was there with us till the end," he told reporters
here.
Asked why he did not disclose Sharma's name earlier
itself, Agnivesh said he did not do so because he was deeply
hurt by the "smear campaign" launched against him.
"There were people inside who did it (referring to the
CD). I felt deeply hurt. I said someone from the Kejriwal team
have done this.
"I want to know why the CD was leaked the day when Anna
Hazare broke his fast. They should have sought a clarification
from me," he said.
Agnivesh claimed Sharma had spoken to Team Anna member
Prashant Bhushan about their leaked conversation and that
Bhushan was satisfied with the explanation.
PTI
First Published: Saturday, October 01, 2011, 21:59