DC debate: Anna Hazare has not changed at all

Tapan Vaidya, IT Professional, Art Of Living Teacher

The first identity that the nation had of Arvind Kejriwal was that he was a part of Team Anna. In Indian tradition, a lot of gurus have taken the role of “king maker,” and for that Anna can also be credited for making Kejriwal who he is for the nation today.

There is an episode in Mahabharata when guru Drona asks Eklavya for the thumb of his right hand as gurudakshina. The widely known story is that Drona did this because he wanted his pet disciple Arjuna to be the best.

However, the other side of the story is that by asking for the thumb, Drona was totally aware of the fact that for ages, people would have a higher regard for Eklavya. By doing so, Eklavya can be exemplified as the best of disciples, while Drona does not get exemplified as the best of gurus.

Tradition says that a guru will always want what is best for the disciple in the long run, even if it is at the cost of his own dignity. In the Anna- Kejriwal relationship, we have seen that Anna has always maintained the dignity of a guru, he has praised Kejriwal on his win in the elections, however, Anna had  maintained an apolitical stand for the Lokpal Bill, and has never tried to belittle Kejriwal’s actions.

After the Delhi elections, all of a sudden a lot of political parties are praising the Aam Aadmi Party and its members; and what Anna dared to do on Friday can surely not be done by any other leader. And Anna could do it because he is apolitical and selfless.

Now, we see that all political parties are trying to get mileage out of the Lokpal Bill that Anna had fought for and it is a matter of time that we will see the Aam Aadmi Party also fall in line for the same.

But Anna has not changed. He is doing the same thing that he has been doing since the beginning. Not sure whether Kejriwal, if he would have been there instead of his team member, would have commented in the same way as his team member did, and whether Anna would have responded similarly.

However, the fact is that Kejriwal did not go and meet Anna personally and what an AAP member does is the moral responsibility of Kejriwal, in the same way as the Prime Minister is responsible for whatever the ministers of the UPA government do. So, by having a conflict with Anna, Kejriwal will only be belittling himself at this point of time.

Next: People trust Arvind Kejriwal

People trust Arvind Kejriwal

C. Vinod Kumar, AP State Coordination Committee Member, AAP

Arvind Kejriwal considers Anna Hazare his mentor. Anna had himself discussed with Kejiriwal many a times that there should be an alternate political party in the nation to bring rapid political revolution. Kejriwal and his team have not come in to politics willingly, they had no other option.

The Aam Aadmi Party is on  a noble mission: To cleanse the rotten political system. It is receiving tremendous response and support from Indians across the nation. Ironically, associates of Anna are terming AAP a party formed for selfish purpose. Anna should realise that he is losing his credibility. We wish that Anna would  discard negative approach towards Aam Aadmi Party.

He can question AAP whenever the party makes a mistake, but not brand it as a selfish party, as it is breaking the hearts of millions of AAP supporters who are losing faith in Anna. In spite of all the baseless allegations by the current Team Anna, right before the elections, AAP has achieved a big victory in Delhi, which proves that people trust Kejriwal and AAP.

It is the only party in the nation which has come up with the unique common man friendly manifesto. There has been complete transparency right from collection of funds, selection of candidates to fighting elections.

AAP is the only party in the world which has not collected funds from corporate houses to contest elections. We expected that Anna would appreciate the efforts of Kejriwal to give a perfect alternative to the present-day rotten politics. But, Anna’s approach towards AAP is very painful and disturbing.

Kejriwal and AAP supporters do understand well that some vested forces have been around him right from the day he decided to go ahead with a party. Going by the record, it clearly shows that the prominent members in his team, with proclivity towards one major national party, are trying hard to create a rift between the two for political reasons.

The way in which General V.K. Singh insulted AAP and Kejriwal’s envoy Gopal Rai on Anna’s stage was disgusting. All efforts are being made by the vested elements to ensure that AAP, the only party fighting for strong Jan Lokpal must be distanced from Anna. Hope Anna will finally understand  this one day for the sake of the nation.