New Delhi:
The Prime Minister has sent a letter to Anna Hazare assuring the anti-corruption crusader that his government plans to introduce a strong new Lokpal Bill to combat graft.
But a senior leader of the PM's party, Digvijaya Singh, has begun amplifying his attack on Anna for the 74-year-old's alleged links to the right-wing Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS). Mr Singh has released a letter today which he says exposes the support the RSS has provided to Anna's anti-corruption movement. The letter, dated April 8 this year, is signed by Suresh Joshi, senior leader of the RSS to Anna. It praises Anna for launching a people's movement and for making the fight against corruption a national cause. The RSS, the note says, supports Anna's campaign.
Mr Singh has repeatedly alleged that Anna is being used by the RSS for its political agenda. Earlier this week, he alleged that the BJP wants to help the Gandhian become the country's next president. And in a letter to Anna yesterday, Mr Singh accused the activist of being exploited by his inner circle of supporters for their political gain. Mr Singh said Anna and his activists should not campaign against the Congress in Hisar, Haryana.
(Read Digvijaya Singh's letter)This constituency votes tomorrow for its next MP. Anna's closest supporters like Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi have addressed huge rallies, asking for the Congress to be defeated. They say the people must use this election to warn the Congress that unless it gets the Jan Lokpal Bill passed by Parliament in the winter session, the party will suffer further defeats in bigger elections- states like Uttar Pradesh are scheduled to vote in the next few months.
Team Anna says they have no political leaning -they just want to prove to the Congress that it has to deliver on its commitment to the new Lokpal Bill. But Mr Singh pointed out in his letter to Anna that by asking voters to spurn the Congress, his team is helping the two front-runners for the election. Both those candidates come from politically powerful families accused of considerable corruption.
The Hisar election is seen as a close contest between Kuldeep Bishnoi, whose father Bhajan Lal was the MP till he died in June, and Ajay Chautala, whose father Om Prakash has served in the past as Haryana's Chief Minister. Mr Bishnoi, whose own party is the Haryana Janhit Congress, is supported by the BJP. Mr Chautala represents the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD). The CBI has accused the Chautalas of collecting assets worth 1500 crores, most of which cannot be accounted for. Ajay Chautala has denied the allegations, stating that the CBI is being used by the union government for political vendetta against him.