Arvind Kejriwal didn’t respond to my letter, Mamata Banerjee did: Anna Hazare
New Delhi: Anna Hazare and Mamata Banerjee sat next to each other, both dressed in the simple white cottons they prefer, as the Gandhian activist explained why he has chosen to end his ban on support to political parties to campaign for her. The Gandhian activist said only the West Bengal Chief Minister had responded to his charter for political parties. “I had sent my 17 points to Arvind Kejriwal as well, but he never responded,” he said of the former Delhi Chief Minister, who campaigned alongside him in his 2011 movement for the Lokpal, or anti-corruption ombudsman.
“I will neither support nor oppose Arvind,” he said, responding to a question.
Anna emphasised that his support is for Mamata Banerjee, not her party. “I am supporting didi not for her party but for her sentiments towards the nation. It’s for the first time that I have found a politician like her,” the 76-year-old anti-corruption crusader said. Ever since he announced last week that he would campaign for Ms Banerjee, Mr Hazare has said her simplicity and austere way of life has impressed him. He reiterated that today and added, “I support her ideology. She has the ability to sacrifice. We have that in common.”Ms Banerjee said that her party will contest all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal.
“We will also contest from Assam, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur. In North and South India, we will talk to Anna and contest after taking his advice,” Ms Banerjee said.Anna and Ms Banerjee had a dinner meeting and shared warm vibes on Tuesday. Earlier, Ms Banerjee touched the activist’s feet thrice when he arrived for a meeting at the Trinamool headquarters in Delhi. Her demeanour contrasted sharply with her criticism of Anna’s Lokpal movement.Ms Banerjee had launched her campaign for the Lok Sabha elections last month with a call to her party to look towards Delhi. “BJP is not the alternative to Congress. Congress is not the alternative to BJP. Trinamool is the only alternative in the country today,” she told a massive rally in Kolkata last month.
