Anna Hazare should focus only on corruption: Supporters

NEW DELHI: While Anna Hazare may have widened the scope of his agitation to include issues like electoral reforms and public-flogging of alcoholics, a section of his supporters at Jantar Mantar feel that the Gandhian should only concentrate on the core issue of corruption.

Madhu Thakur, a 65-year-old businessman from Golf link area of the capital, claims to have been a part of Hazare's anti-corruption movement from the very beginning.

"I have supported Anna everytime, but he should be focusing on corruption. Isn't it irrelevant and unnecessary to demand flogging of alcoholics or for that matter electoral reforms?

"Law and order can take care of that. Hazare should deal with corruption, the issue for which hundreds are supporting him," Thakur said.

"One can come up with a number of issues in this country but the need of the hour is to demand a strong Lokpal bill. If this demand is fulfilled it would anyway solve 90 per cent problems of the country. Everything else will follow," opines P K Verma, a retired defence officer from Haridwar.

Amit Pandey , a research scholar in the Chemistry department of Delhi University, however, supports the Gandhian's demand for public flogging of alcoholics.

"You have to see his intention, while his old-age may have been the factor behind these remarks but his basic intention was right," he said.

A group of Delhi University students said, "Anna ji should take the youth along. If he gives such statements like flogging and all, then he is in a danger of isolating the youth from the movement".