JOIN USAnna Hazare’s movement against corruption, which has lurched between periodic protests and rifts within, took another blow at the weekend, with personal aide and spokesperson Suresh Pathare resigning from the social activist-led Bhrashtachar Virodhi Jan Andolan's (BVJA) office.
While Pathare cited “personal reasons” for parting ways with Hazare, it is believed that Pathare was keen that the anti-graft crusader join hands with India Against Corruption (IAC) members like Arvind Kejriwal and others in forming a political front.
But, the development made it clear that the inner circle around Hazare now stands in disarray. Repeated attempts to contact Pathare failed to elicit any response. Hazare on Tuesday made it clear that he would not be a part of IAC-proposed political organisation.
A day before bringing about a vertical split within the IAC, Hazare sent out invites to 35 social workers in the state seeking their advice on ways to fortify the anti-corruption movement; the list of invitees included well-known social workers such as Prakash Amte, Abhay Bang, Girish Prabhune, Suniti S R and Vishwambar Chaudhary.
Four days after a bitter split on the issue of forming a party, on Sunday, Arvind Kejriwal hoped that Hazare would be back with his group in another “three-four months”. “Some people say Anna has left us. He hasn’t. He is in our hearts. None can take him away from us. It is just that while he believes that politics is a dirty thing, we are of the view that we have to enter politics to clean it,” Kejriwal told supporters