Ahilyanagar (Maharashtra), Nov 2026 : Veteran social activist Anna Hazare on Wednesday rejected Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s claim that his India Against Corruption movement had received covert support from the BJP and the RSS, saying that his focus had always been on the welfare of society and the country rather than any political party.
Responding to Gandhi’s remarks in her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, Hazare said she should focus on the country’s condition and future instead of making what he described as narrow political observations.
“Several people from the RSS and BJP also went home because of my movement. I do not think about any political party. For me, only society and the country matter. It is not right to have such a narrow outlook. Think about the country, the direction it is heading in and the condition of our nation, and not about such petty things,” Hazare told reporters.
He asserted that he had no association with either the Congress or the BJP and maintained that his activities were guided solely by public interest.
“I think only about the interests of society and the country. During droughts, I use my pension money for those affected. You should think about such issues and work for society,” he said.
Reacting to the criticism, Hazare compared himself to a fruit-bearing tree that attracts stones, saying, “Why would someone throw stones at a tree which doesn't bear fruits?”
He added that he had dedicated his entire life to society and the country and would continue to discharge his responsibilities irrespective of what others said about him.
Hazare also spoke about his upcoming book, Anna Hazare: Gram Yogi, which he said would document his life journey. He urged people to read it, saying they could learn from his experiences. He added that he was not concerned about what others wrote about him.
In her memoir, Sonia Gandhi recalled the India Against Corruption movement, which brought Hazare into national prominence and attracted large crowds during the tenure of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government.
She wrote that some prominent individuals associated with the movement later claimed it had received “covert support” from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
Gandhi also recalled that Hazare was brought to Delhi amid considerable publicity, where he began a hunger strike. According to her account, the movement put the then UPA government and the Congress on the defensive.
The senior Congress leader further wrote that once the movement's opponents achieved their objective of dislodging the UPA government, “nothing more was heard or written about Anna Hazare”.
Hazare, however, maintained that political criticism would not affect his commitment to social work.
(Disclaimer :The content of this article is sourced from a news agency and has not been edited by the Mavericknews30 team.)
