Don't want to get into political dirt: Hazare on Bedi's BJP foray

Refusing to comment on why he did not take a phone call of his former associate Kiran Bedi, who recently joined the Bharatiya Janata Party, anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Wednesday said he wanted to stay away from “political dirt.”

Asked about reports that Bedi had called him but he did not receive the call, Hazare said, “This subject has come up again. I don’t want to wade into this dirt. I don’t want to go into such political dirt.”

Hazare, who said that the former IPS officer did not consult him before joining BJP, told reporters at Ralegan Siddhi village in Ahmednagar district that he will decide the next course of agitation on Janlokpal issue after the Delhi assembly polls.

“The direction of the agitation will be decided after Delhi assembly elections,” Hazare said.

When asked who will be with him during his agitation after the Delhi polls, Hazare said, “We will decide that later.”

On Bedi joining the BJP, Hazare said, “I don’t want to comment on that.”

Bedi had recently said that she would meet Hazare and explain her decision to join politics.

The 77-year-old Gandhian had refused to take her phone calls, as he was apparently upset that she did not consult him before joining the BJP.

“I called Annaji on telephone, sometimes he was sleeping and sometimes he was taking rest,” Bedi had said.

Hazare, whose India Against Corruption campaign won massive public support in 2011, has not hidden his distaste towards mainstream politics. Both he and Bedi had opposed Arvind Kejriwal’s move to launch the Aam Aadmi Party in 2012.