Conditional support to Kejriwal, says Hazare

Social activist Anna Hazare on Monday said that he will provide conditional support to the newly launched party of his one time associate, Arvind Kejriwal depending on the quality of candidates he fields in the coming election.

Kejriwal plunged into politics with the launch of the political outfit named Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

“Even if we have parted ways but our goal remains the same, ‘Corruption free India’. I will promote the candidates selected by Arvind only after examining their background,” Hazare said while addressing the volunteers of India Against Corruption, here.

The anti corruption crusader said, “I will request the people to vote for the right candidates of the AAP during his country wide campaign starting from January 2013 and added that it is imperative to send good candidates to the parliament to prevent corruption.

Taking a dig at the parliamentarians, he said 163 MPs are tainted and many of them have been charge-sheeted.

On the direct cash transfers (DCT) to beneficiaries of subsidy schemes of the Union government, he said, people’s committees should decide the list of the beneficiaries. The ruling Congress party has described the latest move as a fulfillment of its 2009 election promise and a “game changer.” Hazare said, there are many loopholes in the Jan Lok Pal bill brought by the government and passing an effective Lok Pal bill will bring down corruption by 65 per cent. Along with the institution of Lok Pal, there is need of five more legislations which will reduce the corruption level by 95 per cent, he added.

Criticising the government’s apathy towards the farmers and faulty education system in the country, he said,“ Poor people are not able to provide higher education to their children as colleges are demanding donations to the tune of 50 to 60 lakhs while our constitution guarantees education for all.”