Kejriwal should contest polls against Sibal: Anna Hazare

Anna Hazare Monday said he would campaign for his former Team Anna colleague Arvind Kejriwal if he contested elections against union minister Kapil Sibal.

“I will tell Arvind, fight elections against that man from Chandni Chowk, what is his name... Kapil Sibal,” Hazare said at a press conference.

Sibal, who represents Chandni Chowk constituency in parliament, holds the portfolios of communications and human resource development.

“If he fights against Sibal I will go and campaign for him,” he said.

"So far, I have not found any faults in Arvind. He has sacrificed his family life to serve society,” he said.

“It is not right to say he is driven by personal ambition. Whatever he has done, he has done for the society, there is no selfishness,” he said.

Asked why he was against Sibal, Hazare said: “He was the first one to object to the Jan Lokpal bill.

He said how can outsiders be in the joint committee. I told him, when the country became a republic, people became the ruler of the country and he was just a servant. Then he was enlightened a bit.”

“It is not good for such people to be in the government,” he added.

The veteran activist also denied any rift with his former teammates and said he did not join them because he did not want to enter politics.

“I have no differences with Arvind... Why should we have any differences? They want to contest elections, I don't,” he said.

“If I had to come to politics, I would have first fought gram panchayat elections. I never wanted to join politics. But there is no debate, no difference, our aim is the same,” he said.

Kejriwal was a key member of the Hazare-led Team Anna that launched a spirited campaign for a stringent anti-corruption Lokpal bill. They parted ways after Kejriwal announced the launch of a political party.

The party will be launched Tuesday, Gandhi Jayanti.

Hazare has announced he would be recruiting volunteers from all over the country for his anti-corruption movement and form national and state level committees.