Hazare happy at Kejriwal’s defeat, silent on allegations against Modi govt, claims Raut
Veteran social activist Anna Hazare is happy at the defeat of Arvind Kejriwal in the Delhi Assembly polls, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said on Sunday.
The BJP ended the Aam Aadmi Party’s reign in Delhi by winning 48 seats in the 70-member Assembly there. Among the prominent losers was Kejriwal from New Delhi constituency.
Raut also questioned the silence of Hazare on corruption allegations made over the past some years against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre.
“Where was Hazare when corruption occurred during Modi’s rule? Hazare is happy over Kejriwal’s defeat. The country is being looted with wealth concentrated in the hands of a single industrialist. How can democracy continue in such a situation? What could be the secret behind Hazare’s silence at such a time,” Raut questioned.
“There was a similar pattern regarding voters’ list confusion in Maharashtra as well as in Delhi. However, Hazare chose to remain silent on such issues. Similar complaints were made in Haryana as well. These will come up in the Bihar polls too,” the Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP said.
Since the BJP came to power in 2014, elections have not followed constitutional procedures, he alleged.
“Victory is being secured through manipulation and money power,” Raut claimed.
The outcome of the Delhi polls would have been different if the AAP and Congress had contested in alliance, he opined.
Hazare, while speaking to reporters on Saturday, after the Delhi poll results were declared, claimed Kejriwal did not pay attention to what he had told him and “only focussed on liquor”, a reference to the scrapped excise policy brought in by the outgoing government.
“I have always said a candidate’s conduct and thoughts must be pure. His life should be without blame and it must involve sacrifice. These are the qualities that build trust among voters. I had told this to Kejriwal but he did not pay heed. He was overwhelmed by money power,” Hazare had said a day earlier.
