Anna Hazare declines BJP's appeal to join agitation against AAP govt
Mumbai/Delhi: Activist Anna Hazare on Friday said it was "unfortunate" that the Delhi BJP should ask him to join in its agitation against the AAP government when it has a huge cadre of its own and wields power in the Centre.
His going to Delhi would not make any difference as he did not believe any party can give the country a bright future, Hazare said in a letter to Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta.
Gupta had on Monday written to Hazare, urging him to join his party's "mass movement" against the Arvind Kejriwal government, which he had claimed was "a new name of social, political and economic corruption".
Reacting to Hazare's response, Gupta on Friday said "the Delhi BJP has a strong organisation and is capable of leading all kinds of mass movements but wanted the symbolic presence of the social activist because the AAP was born out of the movement led by him".
Several senior Delhi BJP leaders criticised Gupta for bringing "embarrassment" to the party.
"What could be more embarrassing than this. It seems Gupta did not consult senior party leaders before writing to Hazare," said a former Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party president.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was Hazare's key ally in his 2011 anti-corruption agitation in the national capital.
"I felt disappointed reading your letter written to the press. Your party, BJP, has been ruling the country for the past more than six years," Hazare said.
"What could be more unfortunate than leaders of a party, which has youth cadres in big number and claims to have the highest number of members in the world, urging an 83-year-old fakir (monk) like Anna Hazare who resides in a temple's 10X12 feet room and has no asset and power, to join in its protest," he wrote.
The BJP-led Union government controls agencies like the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Hazare said, asking why no legal action was being taken against the Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi if it was corrupt.
His agitations were never against any party, the octogenarian said. The BJP came to power in 2014 showing dreams of corruption-free India, "but the worries of people have not lessened", Hazare said.
Political parties find faults with their rivals, but need to introspect and talk about their own flaws, he said.
"In the present condition, I don't think any party can give a bright future to the country. Many parties are stuck in the circle of making money out of power and attaining power using money," he said.
"....people will not get relief until the system changes. Hence, I feel my coming to Delhi again will make no difference," Hazare added.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
