Social activist Anna Hazare interacts with the media during a function in New Delhi on Friday
Blamed by Anna Hazare for the poor turnout at a rally at Delhi's Ramlila Maidan on Wednesday, his aide Santosh Bharti today hit back, saying it only proved that "they can't pull in the crowds."
Mr Bharti was referring to Mr Hazare as well as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee who was left addressing the much-publicised joint rally alone after the veteran activist failed to show up.
"I run a newspaper. My job is not to bring in the crowds," Mr Bharti said.
His remarks came after Mr Hazare yesterday justified his no-show at the rally, saying "there were not even 4,000 people there." He also accused Mr Bharti of cheating him.
Rejecting those allegations, Mr Bharti today also played out an audio clip where the 76-year-old allegedly tells Ms Banerjee the reason for his absence at the event.
"I'm sorry, I'm not keeping well and will not be able to attend the public meeting with you. My best wishes are with you," Mr Hazare is allegedly heard saying in the audio.
Ms Banerjee's Trinamool Congress had reacted cautiously to the Gandhian's outburst on poor crowds.
"Our leader gave a very gracious comment and didn't blame anyone. We are not disappointed. We were informed by him a few minutes before the rally that he wasn't feeling well. We believed it," Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien told NDTV. "Now it's time to look ahead."
Mr Hazare recently overcame his aversion to supporting political parties and said he would campaign for Ms Banerjee as she was a rare, simple politician who deserved to be the country's Prime Minister.
However, their relationship is now shrouded in mystery. The two were supposed to address a joint rally at Ahmedabad on March 20. But that is now up in the air.