New Delhi:
Upset over Congress leaders calling him a mask of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Anna Hazare today told Congress chief Sonia Gandhi that party leaders and ministers were "telling lies" to defame him and dared them to make public any evidence to prove it.
In a three-page letter, Hazare said such remarks were part of a "conspiracy" to defame him and ensure that those people who supported him during the April protest did not do so in future.
A "hurt" Hazare 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.
"If the Congress party has any concrete evidence (to prove the allegations), please make it public," he said.
He also said it did not augur well for the country if responsible leaders start "telling lies only to cling to power" by misleading people on issues.
His letter came in the backdrop of Congress general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi dubbing him as a "mask" of BJP and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee calling his agitation against corruption supported by the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
"If the responsible leaders in the party and government 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 buttress his point, he said he had criticised the Gujarat government for corruption and asked, "Had I been associated with BJP, I would not have talked about such things".
In a counter-offensive of sorts, the Congress had on Sunday launched a nationwide campaign to expose the allegedly communal forces behind Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdev's campaign against corruption and black money.
Kickstarting the campaign, senior party leader and Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had hit out at the civil society activists for misusing the right to protest.
Speaking in Kolkata, Mr Mukherjee had said, "They are saying, you will have to agree with what we are saying. Who has given them the legitimacy? If 5000 people support one person, does it justify these things?"
Stepping up the attack, Mr Mukherjee also claimed that the fasts were being sponsored and encouraged by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) to further their political motives.
Hazare had earlier kicked up a controversy by praising Modi for development works in rural Gujarat.
Hazare said he had made it clear earlier that he would attend Ramdev's protest only if there was no participation of communal elements in his agitation.
The Gandhian said no party leader was allowed to share dais with him during his hunger strike in Jantar Mantar in April and "everyone knew this. You (Sonia) also know this. So in these circumstances, is it right to raise such allegations to defame?"
He reminded Gandhi that he had fought against corruption in Maharashtra against all parties, including Shiv Sena, BJP and Congress and many of their leaders were forced to resign.
Hazare said he will go on fast again on August 16 if the Lokpal Bill was not passed by then and that he was ready to sacrifice his life for the cause.
On members of the Lokpal Bill joint drafting committee, he claimed that several allegations were raised against Shanti Bhushan and Prashant Bhushan and later on Karnataka Lokayukta Satosh Hegde.
"It appears that the smear campaign is to ensure that civil society members become disillusioned and leave the committee. We are hearing that some people are after Arvind Kejriwal to find out about his assets. But they were not successful as he does not possess illegal assets," he said.
Read Anna Hazare's letter to Sonia Gandhi