Anna Hazare Rejects Sonia Gandhi's Claim That BJP Supported His Agitation

Social activist Anna Hazare has rubbished Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's claim that his 2011-2012 "India Against Corruption" movement was covertly supported by the BJP and RSS to dislodge the then UPA government.

"This is wrong. I don't have any connection with the BJP or RSS. I don't participate in their programmes. My country is my priority," Hazare said, replying to a query on the claim in Gandhi's memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love.

In a viral excerpt from the memoir, Gandhi has stated that the massive anti-graft protests in the capital caught the then ruling coalition UPA unprepared and placed the administration on the defensive.

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"In 2012 a well-known activist from Maharashtra, Baburao 'Anna' (Marathi for 'father' or 'elder brother') Hazare, emerged as the figurehead of a movement that titled itself 'India Against Corruption.' Some of its prominent participants have stated since that it was covertly organised and supported by the BJP and RSS," the book reads.

Rejecting the accusation, Hazare said: "Whatever I do is for my society and country. I don't have anything to do with any party. What is the basis to claim that the Manmohan Singh-led government lost the (2014) elections due to my agitation."

"Neither has she seen Anna Hazare, nor have I seen her so far. How appropriate is it to comment on something without even seeing each other," Hazare said.

A responsible person should speak responsibly, he added. "It is not right to speak in a vague manner. It diminishes that person's image," he added.

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Talking about how the India Against Corruption Movement received massive public support, Sonia Gandhi has stated that at that time, the UPA found itself on the back foot, eventually leading to the government passing the Lokpal Act.

The memoir further reads, "Hazare was brought to Delhi with tremendous fanfare to launch a hunger strike, demanding that a Lokpal (People's Guardian) be appointed - an ombudsman with sweeping powers. The movement drew large crowds, and we found ourselves on the backfoot, unable to counter the BJP's aggressive campaign."

The memoir further claims that while the UPA government eventually passed the anti-corruption law, the ombudsman mechanism was systematically sidelined after the BJP came to power in 2014.