The ruling Congress on Tuesday escalated its scale of attack on Anna Hazare, as party General Secretary Digvijay Singh wrote to the Gandhian an open letter questioning his secular credentials.
Singh, who addressed the four-page mail to the social activist in particular, alleged him of being close to the RSS and also asked why Hazare had not spoken out against the BJP and the “corruption” in the states ruled by that party.
Singh’s letter comes on the heels of his statement that Hazare was being “misled” by a “coterie” around him. Team Anna’s intensive campaign in this week’s bypoll in Haryana’s Hisar, urging voters to defeat the Congress, thus set off a fresh volley of attack from the Congress leader.
The letter, which comes on the final day of electioneering ahead of the October 13 poll, raises a list of issues that questions the total credibility of the Anna movement.
Singh went on to remind Hazare that whenever he had raised the issue of an RSS support to his anti-corruption movement, the crusader had rubbished the claims. But now he had “ample proof” to state that the saffron brigade was “indeed behind” the activity.
“Are you not aware that Sangh spokesman Ram Madhav had come to your dais and had extended you support? During the conclusion of your programme at the Ramlila grounds [in Delhi], special mention was made of the RSS and BJP chief Nitin Gadkari while extending thanks,” Singh wrote. “In such a backdrop, your statements that you are not aware that the Sangh has extended support to you raises questions on your credibility.”
Emphasising his point, Singh questioned Hazare that “while conducting such a huge nation-wide campaign, are you not aware which organisations are supporting you and do you still want to go ahead by taking their support?” In fact, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat recently stated in public that Sangh volunteers participated in Hazare’s recent movement against corruption.
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Singh, then alluding to the “double speak” of Team Anna, pointed out that Hazare had throughout been silent corruption when the BJP-led NDA was in power. Moreover, while the activist called for strongly opposing the Congress, he has been praising Narendra Modi despite the BJP chief minister’s Gujarat having no Lokayukta for the past nine years.
He also cautioned him against the “lofty promises” the BJP made of making him a presidential candidate. Reiterating his earlier statement, Singh said, “The talk is that the BJP wants to make you a candidate in the Presidential election next year. You become a candidate, but beware of the lofty promises of the BJP, which is in the habit of leading people up the garden path.”
The Congress party, while officially not commenting on the letter, is whole-heartedly in agreement with the issues Singh has raised.
He put into writing what Congress leaders have been saying for the past few weeks: Hazare’s anti-Congress agitation is ironically helping candidates backed by the BJP and Haryana’s INLD who are steeped in corruption.
Congress insiders also allege that RTI activist Arvind Kejrwal, who hails from Hisar, has had old family ties with the family of late chief minister Bhajan Lal. Therefore, the anti-Congress stance of that Team Anna member was only to help Lal’s son, HJC candidate Kuldeep Bishnoi, they add.
While Hazare and his team have been doing everything to target the Congress, the party too has put in its full force -- it even got three of its chief ministers to campaign for this bypoll.