Hazare anguished by antics of Kejriwal's colleagues

Veteran anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Tuesday said he was "very anguished and hurt" by the antics of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's cabinet ministers.

He said while some of Kejriwal's colleagues were in jail, some others are indulging in fraudulent activities, referring to the recent upheavals in the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi.

"I am sad and deeply hurt to see all this. The high expectations I had from Kejriwal are over now," Hazare told the media at his native village Ralegan-Siddhi here.

He was responding to questions on the arrest of sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar, 36, in a sex scandal after a woman accused him rape.

Hazare pointed out that when Kejriwal worked with him in the Indian Against Corruption (IAC) movement in 2011, he had written a book on 'Gram Swaraj'. "Can we call this Gram Swaraj?" he asked.

The veteran social leader said he had warned Kejriwal of such possibilities (of controversies) long back, asking how he would ascertain the character of the people joining his party.

"He had no answer. But I can experience it now. I reiterate what I have said before that be it any party or the leader, it is important to verify their antecedents and ensure they have a clean character," Hazare said.

Hazare earlier told a news channel in an interview that his dream about his one-time protege and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal bringing about a positive change in the political system lay "shattered".

"It is my misfortune that the dream of change which I saw in Arvind (Kejriwal) has been shattered now,"

"I am deeply saddened by whatever has happened in Arvind's party," he added.

Hazare said his hopes have been dashed and he would never support the AAP again.

--IANS

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