Cong digs Anna Hazare's dirt

A child joins supporters of Hazare in a show of solidarity near the India Gate on August 17, 2011.

When Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari waved the Justice P B Sawant report in front of mediaperson on Sunday and called Anna Hazare corrupt, it marked the culmination of an almost two month long exercise by certain Congress leaders to find dirt on Anna Hazare.

According to Congress leaders in Maharashtra, an earnest attempt to find chinks in Anna's armour some time after Baba Ramdev' fast was disrupted and the negotiations over the Jan Lokpal Bill began breaking down between the government emissaries and Anna's team.

Anticipating that Anna would go on a fast again a section of Congressmen felt that the best way to tackle him was to discredit him. So feelers were sent to Congressmen in the state to dig up about Anna's past. "The message came from a very 'influential and powerful' leader in the party and only a chosen few knew about it," said a senior Congress leader in the know. So 'secret' inquiries began to be made in Anna's adopted village, Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahmednagar district and the various trusts that he headed.

The so called secret inquiries and investigations did not remain a secret anymore as Anna got a whiff that an attempt was being made to discredit him. This is why Anna then began issuing statements two weeks back saying that people were snooping on him and making inquiries in Ralegaon Siddhi.

 "They want to know how much property I own, they should know that I am a guy who sleeps in a small room in a temple and I don't have anything in my name. I have devoted myself for the society, which is why I haven't even got married, "said Anna while visiting different parts of the state.

Not just in Ralegaon Siddhi an attempt was made to even check his records in the armed forces. Here too those making inquiries didn't find anything amiss and interestingly Anna came to know even about this too.

Even as this was being done a Mumbai leader then 'sourced' out the Justice P B Sawant report through the private secretary of a senior minister in the state. This Mumbai leader along with another Congressman then travelled to Delhi to hand over the report to the senior congress leader who had asked for dirt on Anna.

Interestingly the same Congress leader who handed over the report is under scrutiny over disproportionate assets and corruption cases.

From Delhi the report trickled to Manish Tewari. The latter triumphantly took a press conference and slammed Anna. However, the attack boomranged as it was felt that the government was targeting Anna.

Tewari was then given a dressing down by the Rahul Gandhi camp who disapproved of the personal attacks on Anna. Curiously the report was handed over to Delhi inspite of the reservations of Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Chavan was not in favour of the party attacking Anna and had apparently told the Congress leaders looking for information on Anna not to try any such tricks as it could blow up in the face. However since the instructions to gather information came from a particular leader in Delhi, even Chavan couldn't do anything about it.