New Delhi: Anna Hazare on Sunday wrote a letter to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi after senior party members said he was the face of the RSS.
Following is the full text of the letter:
Dear Mrs Gandhi,
Chairperson, UPA
New Delhi.
Dear Mrs Sonia Gandhi,
"Anna Hazare is the representative face of the BJP and RSS," by stating such false facts, and by raising issues that malign my name, the stunts that you and your party are trying to pull, is a matter of concern for me. To prevent my supporters and me from getting the kind of support we got for the April 5 protest at Jantar Mantar, you and your party are trying to defame me. This is a matter of grave concern for me in the context of the country and its people.
The people who should be concerned for the development of the country besides being liars are also corrupt. This is not in the interest of the country. In 73 years of my life, I have never been close to any political party or faction. The reason for this is that every party in the country today is corrupt—they are all after money. They have forgotten the sacrifices made by Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, they have strayed from Gandhi’s ideals, and they constantly misinterpret “freedom" to mean an assertion of their free will.
Given these circumstances, to gain the support of the masses and exert pressure on the government to put an end to corruption and to strive for the development of villages would be the ideal things to aim for—this is my idea. That is why since years I have tried to gather mass support. In Maharashtra too, I have tried to gain the support of people to fight against the corrupt leaders. And in this fight to end corruption, several corrupt leaders from the BJP, Shiv Sena and the Congress alike have been sent back home. Several corrupt officers have also been sent back home.
Our protest of April 5 was not backed by any party. This, the entire country has witnessed. You are also aware of this fact. Given this fact, how right was the allegation that I am a representative face of the BJP and RSS?
After this protest, I went to many other states of the country. I also went to Gujarat and said that Gandhiji’s state is now plagued by corruption and the BJP government in Gujarat is responsible for that. If the BJP was indeed backing me, I would not make a statement like that.
When I had to back Baba Ramdev’s fast, I kept only one condition—that party leaders and other factions would not be on the stage. “Anna Hazare is the representative face of the BJP and RSS," is therefore a completely false allegation.
If party people and political leaders continue to lie to the people of the country, there will be no scope for development. And leaders are the ones who the people of the country look up to. In such circumstances, to hear that I am linked to the BJP or RSS is unfair. If the Congress has proof of my links with these parties, then they should come out with it.
When I wrote a letter to you and the Prime Minister about the Lokpal Bill in the month of December 2010, there was no response. After I threatened I would hold a fast on April 5, the Prime Minister called me for a discussion. But the government did not put forward any satisfactory reply or negotiation following which we held the fast. Only when the entire country became a part of the fast did the government give its consent to a formulation committee for the Jan Lokpal Bill.
After incorporating the recommendations of eminent civil citizens, we sent a draft of the Lokpal Bill to the government. The government was not willing to accept this draft. It accepted the draft only when the civil society backed the bill. In a meeting of this draft committee, several other proposals that would benefit citizens were put forth but the government refused to consider these issues and was also party to the false allegations put against Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan. But lies can never turn into truth. The truth eventually came to the fore. But even then, government supporters started to speak against Santosh Hegde. The motive behind that was to get members of the civil society to abandon the Lokpal Draft Committee. I have also heard that some people were entrusted with the task of finding out the amount of wealth that Arvind Kejriwal and I have. But because we had no undeclared assets or wealth, even this tactic of the government did not work.
The government says that it is difficult to pass the Jan Lokpal Bill. But if the government was really interested in passing the Jan Lokpal Bill, then why would it behave the way it did with the civil society? This is one question. Another question is why was the bill not passed when it has been through the Lok Sabha eight times? This proves that the government has never really been keen on passing a bill of this sort. Is the government ready to bring under scrutiny the corruption that has pervaded it? The anti-corruption wing of the CBI, the CVC and the Vigilance department are to be merged with the Lokpal committee and this has given rise to several issues that still haven’t been discussed. I don’t know how the draft of the Jan Lokpal Bill will be completed by June 30.
Seeing the government’s lack of enthusiasm for the Jan Lokpal Bill and its endeavor to malign my name, I have reached the conclusion that government people only lie and betray. I have told the citizens of the country that if by June 30 no stringent Lokpal law is formulated, I will go on a fast again on 16’Th August, 2011. As long as I am alive, I will carry on this fight. The reason for this is that I have sacrificed my life for the sake of my country and its people. And as long as I live, I will live for my country and my people. And the day I die, will also be for the well-being of my country and its people.
So my plea to you is that your party people should not try and malign my reputation. Also, the government should not try and mislead its people with respect to the Jan Lokpal Bill.
Yours affectionately,
KB Hazare (Anna Hazare)
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