"Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement was covertly supported by BJP, RSS" to dislodge UPA: Sonia Gandhi's memoir

New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gandhi has claimed that the 2012 'India Against Corruption' movement, spearheaded by social activist Anna Hazare, was "covertly organised and supported by the BJP and RSS" with the primary objective of dislodging the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.

According to an excerpt from the memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey of Love', the massive anti-graft protests in the capital caught the ruling coalition unprepared and placed the administration on the defensive.

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"In 2012 a well-known activist from Maharashtra, Baburao 'Anna' (Marathi for 'father' or 'elder brother') Hazare, emerged as the figurehead of a movement that titled itself 'India Against Corruption.' Some of its prominent participants have stated since that it was covertly organised and supported by the BJP and RSS," the book reads.

Talking about how the India Against Corruption Movement received massive public support, Sonia Gandhi said that at that time, the UPA found itself on the backfoot, eventually leading to the government passing the Lokpal act.

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The memoir further reads, "Hazare was brought to Delhi with tremendous fanfare to launch a hunger strike, demanding that a Lokpal (People's Guardian) be appointed-an ombudsman with sweeping powers. The movement drew large crowds, and we found ourselves on the backfoot, unable to counter the BJP's aggressive campaign."

The memoir further claims that while the UPA government eventually passed the anti-corruption law, the ombudsman mechanism was systematically sidelined after the BJP came to power in 2014.

"We brought in the Lokpal Bill in 2014, empowering the Lokpal at the central level and Lokayuktas in states to investigate corruption cases against public officials. But under the BJP it has faded into obscurity and has remained a toothless and near-invisible tiger. And once our opponents achieved their real objective, which was to dislodge our government, nothing more was heard or written about Anna Hazare," the text states.

Reflecting on the political environment during the UPA-II tenure, the passage also highlights the personal toll on former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, stating that he maintained his dignity through a "malicious campaign" and recalling his remark that "history will be kinder to me than the media."

The memoir notes that as the UPA neared the conclusion of its second term in 2014, the RSS was simultaneously "laying the groundwork for the advent of a new prime ministerial candidate: Narendra Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat," leveraging his organizational skills and popularity to build an intense national campaign.

Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act 2013 recieved the President's Assent on January 1, 2014. The act aimed to inquire and investigate into allegations of corruption against public functionaries who fall within the scope and ambit of the Act. The body the 'Lokpal' consists of a Chairperson and eight Members out of whom four are Judicial Members.