Ahilyanagar, November 11, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Veteran social activist Anna Hazare on Wednesday responded to Congress leader Sonia Gandhi’s claims that his India Against Corruption movement had covert support from the BJP and RSS, urging her to focus on the country’s welfare instead of what he described as petty issues.
In her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, Sonia Gandhi wrote that the movement attracted massive crowds and that some prominent figures associated with it later claimed it had “covert support from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh”. She also recalled Hazare’s hunger strike in Delhi, which put the then UPA government and Congress on the back foot.
Responding to the remarks, Hazare said: “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.”
He asserted that he had no association with either the Congress or the BJP and said his focus remained on society and the country. Citing his contribution to drought relief, he said he used his pension money to help affected people.
Comparing the criticism to stones being thrown at a fruit-bearing tree, Hazare said: “Why would someone throw stones at a tree which doesn’t bear fruits?”
He added that he had dedicated his life to society and the country and would continue shouldering his responsibilities, regardless of what others said.
Hazare also spoke about his upcoming book, Anna Hazare: Gram Yogi, saying it details his life story and that readers could learn from it. He said he was not concerned about what others wrote about him.
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