Journalism of Courage
Reacting sharply to being referred as a mukhauta (mask) of the BJP and RSS by Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi,Anna Hazare on Sunday wrote to Congress president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi,daring the party to make public any evidence it has to prove his links with the two.
A deeply hurt Hazare,in his three-page letter,said Congress leaders and ministers were telling lies to defame him. It did not augur well for the country if responsible leaders start telling lies only to clinch to power by misleading people,he said.
His letter came in the backdrop of Dwivedi dubbing him a mask of the BJP recently,even as other leaders took a strong position against the civil society on the proposed Lokpal Bill. In his letter,Hazare said such remarks were part of a conspiracy to ensure that those people who supported him during the April protest did not do so in future.
If the responsible
leaders resort to spreading lies,it is not good for the future of the country. Many senior leaders in your party have said that I am a mask of BJP and RSS. In the 73 years of my life,I have never gone close to any party or front because there is corruption everywhere, he said.
To underline his argument,he recalled in the letter that he had also not spared the Narendra Modi-led government in Gujarat for corruption. Had I been associated with BJP,I would not have talked about such things, he said.
I request you to ensure that responsible leaders from your party should not resort to character assassination and mislead people on the Jan Lokpal Bill, he added.
He also emphasised that no party leader was allowed to share dais with him during his hungerstrike at Jantar Mantar and everyone knew this. You (Sonia) also know this. So in these circumstances,is it right to raise such allegations to defame?
He reiterated his decision to go on fast from August 16,if the Lokpal Bill was not passed by then.
