Editor’s Desk: Anna Hazare, the man who created a big wave in the nation through his anti-graft stir, has taken a back seat now. His key aide Arvind Kejriwal, who pursues a political dream, has now taken over with the slogan “Main Arvind Kejriwal Hoon” during the protest over Coalgate.
Call it as the misfortune of the nation or the effective strategy of the Congress Party, Team Anna was disbanded and Kejriwal has hijacked the movement to make it a political battle with the Congress and BJP. The anti-graft stir has lost its momentum, giving a big jolt to the common people, who rallied behind Anna Hazare and his team in their fight against corruption.
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There is a rift between Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi over the mode of protests. Bedi believes the protests should be made against the government, not against the Opposition BJP. But Kejriwal and his lieutenants Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas do not want to give BJP any political mileage from their movement.
Thousands of India Against Corruption (IAC) members led by Kejriwal & Co. tried to gherao the houses of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, Congress President Sonia Gandhi and BJP President Nitin Gadkari. They tried to do so twice – once at 6 AM and again at 1:30 PM. The alert Delhi police foiled their attempts and detained them. The IAC activists still managed to mark their protests outside the houses of these leaders. The police had to resort to firing of tear gas shells and water cannons to disperse the crowd.
“It’s not a movement, it’s a revolution. And, we will fight till the end,” declared Arvind Kejriwal. Can he replicate the Tahrir Square at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi? Will the common people accept him? Hard to tell, but he has managed to big a big buzz in India, thanks to Anna Hazare, who was used a pawn in the entire movement.