Social Activist Anna Hazare is giving sleepless nights to the BJP ahead of the general election. With only three months left for the poll, he went on ‘deeksha’ in protest against the Modi government for not appointing Lok Pal and Lok Ayukta anti-corruption authorities till now. He has passed critical remarks saying that Modi came to power promising to take action on this but nothing has been fulfilled till now.
Hazare’s protest programmes are very special in Indian politics as they would grab country-wide attention that is second only to Mahatma Gandhi in pre-independent India. His present deeksha has created a lot of political heat already in north Indian states especially in his native Maharashtra. The BJP leaders got a lot of political advantage out of Hazare’s protests prior to 2014 general election.
This time, it is a different story. It is the BJP which is ruling the country and it will have to face much of the impact of Hazare’s serious charges against the country’s polity. Way back in 2013 itself, the Lok Pak Bill was passed in the Parliament but no authority is in place to carry it forward. Hazare is very unhappy no party is serious about this anti-corruption institution.
G.Ravikiran
