RALEGAN SIDDHI: Anna Hazare may have won the latest round on the Jan Lokpal bill but his anger against the government hasn't subsided. On Friday, in a speech to a gram sabha at Ralegan Siddhi, the Gandhian spewed venom on the UPA dispensation, singling out Union home minister P Chidambaram for the strongest attack.
He also asked the Centre to stop "playing around" with his associate Arvind Kejriwal, who has been slapped with an income tax notice, warning that civil society may rally to his defence.
In the first public address after his release from hospital, Hazare slammed Chidambaram, using shockingly crude language. "He is not speaking the truth. He is the real 'khodsal' (mischief-maker) behind my arrest even before I could start my fast. The DIG told me that they (cops) got orders from the top," Hazare said. "This government consists of a mob of "labaad" (cunning) people," he said in Marathi.
Addressing the media, he strongly defended Kejriwal. "What they are doing with him is wrong. I am forced to say civil society will have to travel a different path," Hazare said, demanding to know why the a four-year-old tax issue had been resurrected.
"I have known Kejriwal for eight to ten months. His character, thoughts and actions are pure. I have seen his sacrifices, and he is not selfish. Kejriwal ke saath sarkar khilwad kar rahi hain. Yeh baat barabar nahin (the Centre is playing games with him. This isn't right).
He has dedicated his life for the cause of the nation and it is my request to the government to stop the game it is playing," Hazare said. The Gandhian said that just like him, Kejriwal does not have a bank balance. "Had he wanted to, he could have earned in lakhs," he said.
Earlier in his speech, Hazare accused the government of duplicity during the events before and after his arrest. "First they said they will give us J P Park. Then they refused to give us space for the fast and imposed Section 144. The police came to my house and arrested me saying I would to breach the peace. I asked them how would I disturb the peace when I was at home. The police then told me that they will release me if I paid Rs 10,000 to get bail, which I refused and told them to take me to jail. They took me to jail at 4pm and by 7pm they told me that I have been released," he said, recalling the events of August 16.
Hazare said the Delhi police were getting orders from the topmost quarters of the government. "When I asked them what had happened in the three hours to prompt the decision (to release him), the DIG said the orders had come from the top. He told me that since I was released, I cannot go back to jail. I told him that I will continue to sit in his office and hold my agitation. I sat there for three days. What kind of government is this?" he said.
Insisting that the movement for a strong Lokpal was needed, he said, "The government needs to be given a jolt time and again, like the one we gave during the nationwide agitation for the Jan Lokpal bill. The government has now realized the power of the people. The jan sansad (people's parliament) is higher than Parliament." Hazare said the government must decentralize power to stop corruption. "If the sarpanch becomes corrupt, make a law which can dismiss him. We need law to improve the lot of farmers and labourers to give them justice. We also need a law to stop commercialization of education. It seems as if they have opened shops. They demand donations, and we need a law to prevent this. The exploitation of natural resources needs to be checked by enacting another law," he said.
Addressing the criticism that Dalits had stayed away from his movement, the Gandhian said, "Politicians have created the rift based on caste and creed. At Ralegan Siddhi, the entire village offered voluntary labour (shramdaan) to repay a Rs 60,000 loan taken by a Dalit farmer. It is the bullock owned by a Dalit in our village that is worshipped during the bailpola festival."
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