(Ashutosh joined the Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014. The former journalist took on former Union minister Kapil Sibal and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in the national election from Chandni Chowk in Delhi.)Is Anna Hazare upset with Narendra Modi? Is he planning to launch a movement against the Modi Government? Is he feeling betrayed by Kiran Bedi, his closest ally, for joining the BJP and running for Chief Minister of Delhi? Is he trying to regain his lost ground as a crusader against corruption?
The answer to all these puzzling questions is a resounding "yes". Anna, the man who along with Arvind Kejriwal changed the national discourse of the country by forefronting corruption, to has been feeling isolated by the winds of change which have engulfed the country for the last one year. He is lonely and tired but he wants to rise like a Phoenix.
Anna, 77, has written four letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the last seven months. He has raised the issue of black money and corruption in public life. Not one of his four letters has received a response. He is deeply disappointed and feeling humiliated. Now he has made up his mind. He is planning to write a fifth and final letter and will give the government a month's time to reply, and if the government again ignores him, then he will do what he knows the best that is, lead an agitation.
He is apparently waiting for the Delhi elections to finish. As per information available, he will unveil his plans by the middle of the February, and the action will begin in the first or second week of March. It all depends on the response of the government to his final letter.
He feels that the Modi government has not done enough for the people, specially on the issue of corruption. But his bigger disappointment is the desertion by his one-time loyalist and close confidante, Kiran Bedi. He had tremendous faith in her. It was with Kiran that he had decided to carve a path other than that of Arvind and his associates of India Against Corruption (IAC). When Arvind decided to form a political party and contest elections, Anna opposed the idea. He even declared that AAP could not use his name in its campaign for the Delhi election at the end of 2013.
It's not that Anna did not know about Kiran's flirtation with the BJP leadership. Even during the Anna movement, once Kiran and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar had given a proposal to Anna and his team that they should meet LK Advani and should sharpen their attack on the Manmohan Singh government and the Congress, while sparing the BJP and other parties. Some in the India Against Corruption agreed. But Arvind threw a fit and said the movement was not against only the Congress, but against corruption of all the political parties.. Kiran was hugely disappointed. The first seed of discord between Arvind and Kiran was sown then which now has become a chasm.
Anna undoubtedly has a soft corner for the BJP and the RSS linked to his past, but he loves to maintain his neutrality. He feels that Kiran Bedi joining the BJP has compromised his neutrality because of the the proximity Kiran enjoyed with him. After accepting the BJP's offer, she phoned Anna but he refused to receive her call. Anna believes that Kiran joined his group in 2011 to gain publicity and now that he is no longer in a position to offer her any section of the limelight, she has moved on. He said to a popular Marathi channel that "money and power mesmerizes people and very few people can remain unaffected."
But today the question which needs to be asked is will Anna be able to garner the kind of support which made him a national phenomenon? No doubt the last few months have been disappointing for voters. The Modi government had promised the moon, but has failed to even provide cheaper power to Delhi. It has faced huge embarrassment on the issue of black money. Corruption is still unabated and there is no effort to curb it; honest officers are being removed from their posts. Price rise is still unchecked. But to say that Anna will again create the same old magic is too much to expect for two reasons:
1. The Manmohan Singh government had lost all credibility due to the magnitude of corruption when the movement was launched in 2011. Modi has not delivered yet, his magic is waning, but a section of the society still wants to wait and wants to give him the benefit of the doubt. So it may be a tad early for Anna to launch the agitation.
2. Let's not forget Anna was the face of the movement, but the real architect was Arvind Kejriwal. He was the planner and the strategician. It was a deadly combination. One had moral aura, the other was an action man. It worked beautifully.
Such movements are not constructed in a day or a two. It is an amalgam of historical conditions, moral force and practical approach. We all respect Anna but he should not be in a hurry. The Modi government will provide enough opportunities to make itself unpopular.
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