Arvind Kejriwal, political leaders join Anna Hazare's protest on second day

NEW DELHI: Anna Hazare and Arvind Kejriwal came together for an agitation against the central government’s controversial land acquisition ordinance on Tuesday, with the anti-corruption crusader welcoming the Delhi chief minister on stage more than two years after they had parted ways over the latter’s decision to form a political party.

In a throwback to the Jan Lokpal agitation led by Hazare earlier to demand a strong anti-graft law, Kejriwal said he considered the activist “like his father” and a “guru”, while announcing that he remained opposed to the ordinance even after occupying the post of Delhi CM.

“We support this agitation, which has begun under the leadership of Annaji. I have always considered him as being like my father, a guru for me,” Kejriwal said. Calling the Modiled central government a “property dealer” for the big business houses, Kejriwal said he was with Hazare in the agitation wholeheartedly. “No forcible land acquisition will happen in Delhi. We will make sure that forcibly land is not acquired,” he declared. Kejriwal sprung up a surprise proposal.

“I invite Annaji to the Delhi Secretariat to speak with the heads of department for 10 minutes. If he comes, the secretariat will be purified,” he said. Till late evening, it was not clear whether Hazare would accept Kejriwal’s request and attend the secretariat, although some AAP leaders claimed he would be there by 2 pm in the afternoon the next day.