An apparently miffed Anna Hazare steadfastly declines to comment on his erstwhile associate Kiran Bedi’s entry to politics and the media reports that he had chosen not to take call from the BJP’s Chief Minister candidate, by saying that he would not like to enter the “dirt of politics”.
Seventy-seven-year-old Hazare, with whom Bedi had been closely associated in the 2011 anti-corruption movement, virtually slammed the door on electronic media persons when they approached him in his home village of Ralegan-Siddhi for his comment on the former IPS officer’s entry to politics.
After fielding a couple queries from media persons on his plans to pursue the Janlokpal agitation, the anti-corruption crusader was put off when he was asked he had refused to take call from Bedi. “You are raising the same issue once again. I would not like to get into the “dirt of politics” On being asked to comment on Bedi’s decision to join the BJP, Hazare said: “I do not want say anything about it”.
Early this week, Bedi had herself gone record saying that she had tried to reach Hazare several time over the phone but was told the latter was either “sleeping or taking rest”. She was reacting to media reports that Hazare was upset with her over her failure to keep him in the loop about her plans to plans to join the BJP.
Sources close to Hazare said that Bedi had another fellow activist Vishwambhar Choudhary as her envoy from Pune to Ralegan Siddhi a couple of days ago to establish contact with the anti-corruption crusader. On reaching Ralegan-Siddhi, Chowdhary called Bedi and asked Hazare to speak to her, by saying that she was on the line. However, Hazare refused to take the call.
later on Bedi tried once again to reach Hazare the following through his personal secretary Dutta Awari, but in vain. Earlier, in the initial phase of his brief interaction with the media, Hazare said that he would decide on the course of Janlokpal movement after the Delhi Assembly polls. Queried as to who will be with him in the agitation this time around, Hazare said: “We will decide that later”.