Anna Hazare writes to PM Modi, reminds him of unfulfilled poll promises

Mumbai: Social activist Anna Hazare dashed off another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reminding him of his unfulfilled poll promises and said there is "no visible difference" between his government and the previous Congress-led UPA regime.

Wishing Modi for the New Year, the 78-year-old anti-graft crusader in his three-page letter took a swipe at the prime minister, saying he may have forgotten the things which he promised during the 2014 Lok Sabha campaign like bringing back black money and building a corruption-free India.

The letter was released to the press on Friday. Reminding Modi of the need to implement the Lokpal and Lokayukta properly and fulfil other key poll promises, Hazare said that several letters written by him earlier on these subjects to the Prime Minister had been ignored.

"I am writing again to remind you of these things. I am aware that several letters written by me to you have been dumped in the waste paper basket. This letter may also meet
the same fate," Hazare said.

"I don't expect a PM to respond to each and every letter written to him as it is not possible. However, there should be reply to the letter by a social activist who has
dedicated his life to the nation," Hazare said.

In his latest letter, Hazare said the Modi government should implement the Lokpal and Lokayukta laws properly to curb corruption and also take steps to ensure that farmers got remunerative prices for their produce.

"Corruption rose during the Congress-led regime earlier. Nobody could get work done in any office earlier without paying bribe.

"People trusted your words but even today no work gets done without paying money. Inflation has also not come down," "Promise of bringing back black money has also not
been kept. You don't speak of implementation of the Lokpal and Lokayukta laws passed for curbing corruption. May be you have forgotten the things which you promised," Hazare said.

Hazare also recalled that when he undertook the fast at Ramlila ground in Delhi it was not only the then Congress government but also BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley had given an assurance in Parliament that the anti-corruption legislation will be passed.

"When Narasimha Rao was the PM, he used to speak on phone sometimes. When (Atal Bihari) Vajpayee came to Pune he used to enquire (about me). Manmohan Singh against whom I wrote, used to reply to my letters. Senior RSS leader Seshadri visited my village Ralegan Siddhi and wrote a book 'Karmayogi Ka Gaon," Hazare said giving vent to his anguish on he being ignored by Modi.