New Delhi:
Less than a week after splitting with Anna Hazare, anti-graft activist Arvind Kejriwal today said that the Gandhian will be back with him in another "three-four months" if he can work honestly in politics.
"He will come back in three-four months once he sees our honest and dedicated work," Mr Kejriwal said today at Jantar Mantar, where he led a protest against hike in power tariffs, alleging that the Delhi government and private discoms were out to loot people.
"Everybody's been saying Anna's left us. Anna has not left us, he's in our hearts. He just thinks politics is dirty. We think there's no option but to enter and do a cleanup. We have immense respect for Anna," Mr Kejriwal said.
"I've been forced to enter politics. I'm not doing it out of choice," he added.
Earlier this week, Anna had asked the Kejriwal-led group not to use his name or poster during its campaign as a political group. Anna, 75, and his supporters, including Kiran Bedi, parted ways with the Kejriwal-led group on September 19 over the anti-graft activists deciding to launch a political party.
Mr Kejriwal and his group gathered at Jantar Mantar this afternoon and shouted slogans against Congress-led Delhi government and private discoms. They also burnt electricity bills.
The protest, which is being seen as a prelude to an entry into politics formally, demonstrated keenness of the Kejriwal-led group to fight Delhi Assembly elections slated next year as it targeted Sheila Dikshit's Congress government in the national capital.
However, today's protest did not attract the kind of response which earlier protests by India Against Corruption used to witness; around a 1000-odd people turned up.
Besides Mr Kejriwal, other prominent activists who attended today's protest were Prashant Bhushan, Manish Sisodia, Kumar Vishwas and Sanjay Singh.
(With inputs from PTI)