Hazare says Kejriwal not corrupt

Veteran social and civil rights activist Anna Hazare said Wednesday that he has never alleged that Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal is corrupt, or that he had siphoned off money from his anti-corruption campaign.

"If someone says Arvind Kejriwal and Anna Hazare are fighting, it is wrong. I never said Kejriwal is corrupt," Hazare told reporters, a day after a war of word erupted between him and Kejriwal over funds collected during India Against Corruption (IAC) movement.

"I have always kept away from money. All I said was that several crores were collected in the movement, but I never even took Rs.5 from it. However, I did not say Arvind Kejriwal took all the money. This is not an allegation," he said.

A video aired on television channels Tuesday showed Anna Hazare telling his confidants "billions of rupees were collected during the movement in my name. I did not even take Rs.5".

"The clip that is being played is very old", Hazare said.

He said the issue of concern for him at present was his name being misused by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

"The current issue of concern is the SIM cards they sold in my name. I am not a party to it," he said.

The activist said someone had filed a petition in a court related to the SIM cards sale.