Kiran Bedi wth Anna Hazare during the Gandhian's fast in 2013.
Gandhian Anna Hazare has refused to take phone calls from Kiran Bedi - formerly his close aide - since she joined the BJP, sources close to the activist told NDTV. Sources said he had felt hurt by Ms Bedi's decision to join active politics without consulting him. (
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Since she joined the BJP on Thursday, Ms Bedi has been repeatedly calling Mr Hazare, but he had not been taking her calls. Ms Bedi called him last night and again this morning, they said.
"I called Anna-ji on the telephone; sometimes he was sleeping and sometimes he was taking rest. I tried calling Anna-ji yesterday and will again call him tomorrow," Ms Bedi told the media when asked about the reports that Hazare was unhappy with her.
Ms Bedi said she knows what Mr Hazare would say to her and added that he would "smile".
On Friday, Mr Hazare told reporters that Ms Bedi had not contacted him before joining the BJP. Ms Bedi, he said, had not been to Ralegan Siddhi - Mr Hazare's village near Pune - since the last agitation over a year ago and she had not been in touch with him. (
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Mr Hazare, whose India Against Corruption campaign had won extensive support from the middle classes in 2011, had not been in favour of going into mainstream politics. Both he and Ms Bedi - one of the key members of Team Anna -- had opposed Mr Arvind Kejriwal's move to launch the Aam Aadmi Party. (
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After his initial opposition, Mr Hazare, however, was reconciled to it. He gave Mr Kejriwal his blessing and had even promised to campaign for him. (
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The sources said they were hopeful of a similar reconciliation between Ms Bedi and Mr Hazare. Anna, one of them said, holds Ms Bedi in high esteem and considers her a "sincere and straightforward person".
Ms Bedi admitted she had been unable to talk to Mr Hazare. "Sometimes he was sleeping and sometimes he was taking rest," News agency Press Trust of India quoted her as saying. She said she knew what Hazare would say to her and added that he would "smile", PTI reported.
Ms Bedi, who is widely expected to be the BJP's chief ministerial candidate, joined the party on Thursday. She has already expressed a wish to take on Mr Kejriwal on his home turf, the New Delhi constituency. (
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