•-The recent comment of Anna Hazare about Narendra Modi’s Gujarat government must have shocked his admirers and critics equally. Anna Hazare went to the extent of stating that liquor flows in Gujarat , whereas Gujarat is the only state in the country where prohibition in force. He further said that the Gujarat government is steeped in corruption. When he said this, he singled out Narendra Modi for his criticism when there are many states in the country like Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and others where conditions are worse.
Such criticism by Anna Hazare has been made now , while a few weeks back he went out of the way to praise Narendra Modi. What is it that has happened between now and then for Anna Hazare to take a u turn and paint Narendra Modi as a villain ? By making such remarks , Anna Hazare now looks like an average Indian politician or perhaps even worse, since even the average Indian politician today would not change his views from one extreme to the other extreme in such a short time.
In the recent past, Anna Hazare was hailed as crusader against corruption as he caught the mood of the nation by resorting to fast against corruption. However, when the Government of India ,under the weight of public pressure , agreed to constitute a Lokpal Committee, Anna Hazare erred by arbitrarily choosing the members of the Lokpal committee which created considerable criticisms and misgivings. Anna Hazare has not cared to counter such criticisms and virtually ignored the critics.
By his partisan remarks on Narendra Modi, Anna Hazare has unwittingly given an impression that he is a man with prejudices or a person who can be pressurized to change his views by the coterie around him. Doubts have arisen in the minds of many people as to how such a person can lead an anti corruption movement in India.
Anna Hazare, no doubt has done signal service by mobilizing the country’s public opinion against widespread corruption but this is a job only partly done. The challenges remain which call for great quality of statesmanship and wisdom , that will leave no room for vituperative utterances and prejudices against any individual or group. It is sad that Anna Hazare appears to have failed to live up to the expectations of the people , after successfully mobilizing the anti corruption forces in the nation.
What causes concern is that the momentum generated in the country against the forces of corruption would suffer , if Anna Hazare would lose his way at this critical juncture.
Thanks
N.s.Venkataraman
Such criticism by Anna Hazare has been made now , while a few weeks back he went out of the way to praise Narendra Modi. What is it that has happened between now and then for Anna Hazare to take a u turn and paint Narendra Modi as a villain ? By making such remarks , Anna Hazare now looks like an average Indian politician or perhaps even worse, since even the average Indian politician today would not change his views from one extreme to the other extreme in such a short time.
In the recent past, Anna Hazare was hailed as crusader against corruption as he caught the mood of the nation by resorting to fast against corruption. However, when the Government of India ,under the weight of public pressure , agreed to constitute a Lokpal Committee, Anna Hazare erred by arbitrarily choosing the members of the Lokpal committee which created considerable criticisms and misgivings. Anna Hazare has not cared to counter such criticisms and virtually ignored the critics.
By his partisan remarks on Narendra Modi, Anna Hazare has unwittingly given an impression that he is a man with prejudices or a person who can be pressurized to change his views by the coterie around him. Doubts have arisen in the minds of many people as to how such a person can lead an anti corruption movement in India.
Anna Hazare, no doubt has done signal service by mobilizing the country’s public opinion against widespread corruption but this is a job only partly done. The challenges remain which call for great quality of statesmanship and wisdom , that will leave no room for vituperative utterances and prejudices against any individual or group. It is sad that Anna Hazare appears to have failed to live up to the expectations of the people , after successfully mobilizing the anti corruption forces in the nation.
What causes concern is that the momentum generated in the country against the forces of corruption would suffer , if Anna Hazare would lose his way at this critical juncture.
Thanks
N.s.Venkataraman
