Anna Hazare has finally broken his neutrality in the battle of his former protégés, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi, for Delhi. The veteran Gandhian told The UnReal Times correspondent Rajniti Sarkarwala that he will be “vigorously campaigning for NOTA” in the run up to the Delhi polls.
(Image via IndiaToday.com)
“I’ve always maintained that politicians are rascals. Especially those contesting these elections. So I will urge the people of Delhi to come out in large numbers and press the NOTA button to show these scoundrels their place,” Anna told The UnReal Times. When asked how he felt about Bedi ditching IAC to get hitched to the BJP bandwagon, a cut up Anna said he doesn’t want to speak about it. Pressing his luck, Rajniti tried to probe Anna’s feelings for his other ex-protégé, Arvind Kejriwal. This induced a rare non-Gandhian, vitriolic outburst from Anna, prompting Anna’s aides to indicate that the interview was over.
Both Bedi and Kejriwal expressed sadness over Anna’s decision. “Annaji seems to have been misled this time as well,” Kejriwal observed. “Who benefits from a hung assembly? Lt Governor Jung, who, as we all know, is an Ambani agent. Nevertheless, Annaji will always be in my heart. Of course I would have liked it if, like Lord Krishna, he had mentored and guided me to victory against the forces of evil. I don’t care for Annaji’s resources. Kiran, I mean, Vikasji, can have those. All I want is his blessings. Now with a sad heart, I will have to expose Annaji as well.”
Kiran ‘Vikas’ Bedi said she will sound out Annaji after the elections. “Either I will be CM of Delhi or will be cooling my heels in the lecture circuit. Either way, I’m confident he will friend me on Facebook once again,” she said.
The Congress has also expressed disappointment with Anna siding with NOTA, albeit for different reasons. “Yaar, as it is, we are struggling to stay afloat by polling more votes than NOTA. Now even that seems a far-fetched possibility. Life is a bitch,” a subdued Arvinder Singh Lovely told The UnReal Times.