Dodging controversy on taking a jibe at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare on Sunday said, “Kejriwal had just come to pay a visit. If he does something wrong, we can talk to him about it.” Kejriwal had a 20-minute meeting with Hazare on Saturday night at Maharashtra Sadan which the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders described as a ‘courtesy call.’
Anna Hazare had lauded West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her simplicity while taking a swipe at the AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal, saying some people take bungalows despite promising not to do so. “Mamata wears slippers even after she became the CM but some people take bungalows forgetting how they had started off,” he had said in obvious reference to Kejriwal.
Asked if Mamata is a good prime ministerial candidate, Hazare evaded a direct reply, noting, “I did not say that. I had written a letter to all parties that if they are willing to accept a 17-point agenda, they can let me know.”
The septuagenarian leader, who had Kejriwal as a key figure in his anti-corruption movement in 2011, has had differences with the Delhi CM over formation of the Aam Aadmi Party, after which the two parted ways. Hazare said from March-end or the first week of April, he would travel across the country “to look for and support candidates with good character” as the nation gears up for lok Sabha elections, due by May. The AAP leaders said a number of issues came up at the meeting but declined to elaborate.