New Delhi:
While exiting the
Bigg Boss house, where he spent two days appearing on the reality show, Swami Agnivesh said his immediate agenda is to apologise to Anna Hazare.
"I will say sorry if I have said or done anything wrong. I will try to meet him as soon as possible. With all respect and humility I will apologise to him at the earliest opportunity," Agnivesh said to the Press Trust of India. When asked if he would like to return to the core group that's referred to as Team Anna, he said he had never left it.
Anna's response: "Let Agnivesh come to meet me, then I will decide what to do."
In the last few weeks, 72-year-old Swami Agnivesh, known best for his activism against bonded labour, has accused Arvind Kejriwal, Anna's closest aide of financial malpractice. Swami Agnivesh said Mr Kejriwal had not been open or clear enough about diverting 80 lakhs worth of donations to another non-profit group that counts Mr Kejriwal as a trustee.
Anna, who is 74, has become the icon of the India Against Corruption campaign. In August, when Anna conducted an epic fast to pressure the government to introduce a new law against corruption, Swami Agnivesh was among his advisors. But towards the end, Swami Aginvesh said Anna was pushing the government too hard by refusing to compromise on his version of the law - referred to by Anna as the Jan Lokpal Bill or Citizen's Ombudsman Bill. A video that went viral purported to show Swami Agnivesh talking to an unidentified person asking him to deal strongly with the Gandhian.
The Lokpal refers to an independent agency that will be created to investigate charges of corruption among government servants.
Swami Agnivesh - like others once close to Anna - was also critical of Team Anna's decision to campaign against the Congress in the recent Lok Sabha election in Hissar in Haryana. Many felt that Anna's activists should not have singled out a political party. Anna's group retaliates that it did not express its support for any other party. It's only goal was to deliver a message - that he Congress as the main member of the UPA coalition at the centre must push through the Jan Lokpal Bill in the winter session of parliament. Anna has warned that if the Congress fails, he will campaign personally against the party in states like Uttar Pradesh, which vote soon for their next government.