Anna Hazare fast unto death: Don't insult this movement, Hazare tells Manmohan

NEW DELHI: Anguished by the Congress-led coalition government's critical response to his agitation, the veteran social activist Anna Hazare wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday urging him to stop finding faults and suspect any conspiracies in the movement.

Hazare, whose indefinite fast for enactment of the Lokpal Bill with stringent measures against corruption has mobilized people across India, said that he was pained to read and hear about government's reaction to his stir.

In his letter to the PM, Hazare said that it was alleged that he was being instigated by some people to sit on this fast. "This is an insult to my sense of wisdom and intelligence. I am not a kid that I could be 'instigated' into going on an indefinite past. I am a fiercely independent person. I take advice from many friends and critics, but do what my conscience directs me to do," he wrote.

"It is my experience that when cornered, governments resort to such malicious slandering. I am pained that the government, rather than addressing the issue of corruption, is trying to allege conspiracies, where there are none," Hazare added.

The veteran, who has been on the fast for the last two days, expressed disappointment for being accused of showing impatience. "So far every government has shown complete insensitivity and lack of political commitment to tackling corruption. 62 years after independence, we still do not have independent and effective anti-corruption systems. Very weak versions of Lokpal Bill were presented in Parliament eight times in the last 42 years. Even these weak versions were not passed by Parliament. This means, left to themselves, the politicians and bureaucrats will never pass any law which subjects them to any kind of objective scrutiny. At a time, when the country has witnessed scams of unprecedented scale, the impatience of the entire country is justified."

Hazare concluded his two page letter by urging the PM to stop finding faults and suspecting conspiracies in "our movement". "There are none. Even if there were, it does not absolve you of your responsibilities to stop corruption," he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari had said, "The Prime Minister has already constituted a sub-committee headed by Antony. When the process was already on, then adopting such a path is perhaps not appropriate, probably unnecessary. We respect Hazare very much, but the path he has adopted is premature."

Noting that the Prime Minister's Office has expressed disappointment over Hazare's decision, Tewari had said, "In a democracy, the government moves the Bill and Parliament enacts it. And in between there is enough scope that if any constructive suggestion comes, amendments can be moved."