INDIA: Hazare Meets Activists to Chalk out Future Course of Action

NEW DELHI (NNN-PTI) -- Anna Hazare on Wednesday met activists and experts here to discuss the future course of action of the anti-corruption movement, a day after he made it clear that he was against forming a political party.

The meeting was attended by Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhushan, Santosh Hegde, Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas among others.

Erstwhile Team Anna is divided over the issue of taking a political plunge.

Hazare on Tuesday made it clear that he does not support the anti-corruption movement taking a political plunge and told Kejriwal that he cannot expect the activist’s support for all his candidates.

“I had told Arvind (last month during Jantar Mantar agitation) that if you want to form a party, you go ahead but I will not be part of that,” he had said on Tuesday.

“It is not that if they have 1,000 candidates, I will support all of them. That will not happen,” he had said.

“If they want to launch a party, let them do it. We don’t bother. We will not go with them. It is not our way... Many people have told me that they want to fight polls.

“I have told them that if you want to fight elections, you go and fight. I am not with you in this,” he had said in an apparent reference to Kejriwal’s team, which published survey results claiming overwhelming support for formation of a party.

Explaining his stand against fighting elections, he had said his appeal was that they should not fight elections.

“Whoever wants to fight elections let them. Yes the destination is same but our paths are different. We will not go with those who want to fight elections. Whoever wants to fight elections let them. We don’t bother about it,” he had said.

He had told the gathering that those who do not want to fight elections will have to organise a big movement now, which should be bigger than the August agitation in Ramlila Maidan last year.

Hazare said when the issue of forming a party came during last August agitation; he flagged issues about how to select members and candidates for the party.--NNN-PTI