New Delhi:
Anna Hazare appealed today to the country and to his supporters to stick together for the "India Against Corruption" campaign. Last week, Mr Hazare's four-day-hunger strike forced inspired lakhs of Indians around the world to shake off their inertia and demand a tough new law against corruption.
This week, Mr Hazare is being criticized by some of his most respected supporters for praising the rural development accomplished in Gujarat by Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
"I appeal to all citizens to keep this campaign alive - we are all one in this. There are efforts to break our resolve. Forces have come together to break the campaign. Don't pay heed to misinformation," Mr Hazare said today.
Confronted with the combined power of the 72-year-old's charisma and the rallies in hundreds of cities that urged him not to cede his ground, the government agreed to introduce a new Lokpal Bill that will combat corruption. To ensure that politicians do not draft a bill littered with loopholes, Mr Hazare insisted that civil society representatives be included in the process. So the committee that works on the Lokpal Bill has been formed with five ministers and five activists who will meet sometime next week for the first time.
(Read: What is Jan Lokpal Bill?)Ahead of that, some of the country's best-known activists want Mr Hazare to clarify his remarks on the Gujarat Chief Minister, who they hold complicit for the state's communal riots in 2002. Medha Patkar, for example, has said she cannot be part of a movement that endorses Mr Modi in any way. "It was shocking to find that Anna Hazare ji after receiving support by all of us, with millions, publicly appreciated the rule as well as rural development work by the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Mr Narendra Modi, on the issue of corruption. Modi's response to the initiative to bring in a strong enactment or to wipe out corruption is, to say the least, only politically motivated. If only he was committed to an institution like the Jan Lokpal, how could the Lokpal's post be vacant in Gujarat since 2005?" she questioned.
Artist-activist Mallika Sarabhai who was seen leading rallies in Ahmedabad for Mr Hazare last week has also written a firm letter to him. "We are deeply shocked by your endorsement of Narendra Modi's rural development," she wrote. "There has been little or no rural development in this state...the state is in terrible debt because of his largesse to industry while 21 lakh farmers wait for compensation. Your endorsement is appalling and we will be forced to distance ourselves from the Lokpal movement unless it is irrevocably retracted."
(Read: Mallika Sarabhai's letter of warning to Anna Hazare)Mr Hazare wrote back to her stressing the same point that he made yesterday - that his praise was limited to Mr Modi's development schemes and accomplishments. "I praised only the developmental work done by Shri Narendra Modi and Shri Nitish Kumar in rural areas. Alongside I clarified that I am equally opposed to any form of communal disharmony."
(Read Anna's letter to Sarabhai here)As Mr Hazare tries to provide the context for his remarks, the BJP has appropriate them to suggest an endorsement from a man who has turned into a national hero. Mr Modi wrote an open letter on April 12, thanking Mr Hazare for his praise. Today, BJP leader LK Advani chipped in, stating that he welcomes Mr Hazare's remarks on the Chief Minister.
"I was happy when he (Anna Hazare) praised Narendra Modi and Nitish Kumar in Bihar. If this sentiment spreads that all politicians are corrupt, this is not good for the country, nor the people," said Mr Advani.
Most Congress leaders, wary of criticizing Mr Hazare while he is the epicentre of a national wave of goodwill, have refused to comment on the Modi controversy. However, the party's General Secretary, Digvijaya Singh, was a little more pointed. While describing Hazare as a "very fine human being who has done excellent service in the rural sector," Mr Singh stressed, "There is no Lokayukta in Gujarat for seven years. The post is vacant and he is praising Modi. Why does he not pressurise Modi over the Jan Lokpal Bill and for appointing the Lokayukta as people of Gujarat do not know where to complain?"
Controversy over committee: Khurshid calls for restraint
There are only days now before the Joint Drafting Committee meets to prepare a stronger Lokpal Bill and with some controversy or an exchange of words every day on the issue, committee member Salman Khurshid has said that members should refrain from making statements that could vitiate the negotiating atmosphere.
"The problem is that before the committee can meet, everyone is giving their suggestions and point of view and drawing lines beyond which they won't retreat. It is not good for a negotiating atmosphere. Everybody should go with an open mind. Everybody knows the constraints and let's see how much we can overcome", said Khurshid.