Anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare has decided to start a new blog, after a spat with his official blogger Raju Parulekar.
Mr Hazare’s decision came after Mr. Parulekar, a Mumbai based journalist, posted an unpublished letter written and signed by the crusader on the blog. The letter, written by Mr Hazare on October 23, talks about restructuring the core committee.
The row started on Friday evening when Mr Hazare said that Mr Parulekar was “speaking his own mind”. Mr Hazare was referring to Parulekar’s statement on October 28 on the crusader’s wish to restructure the core committee.
“Whatever Parulekar has said is all unsubstantiated as I have not met him or spoken to him about the restructuring the core committee. He should only write what I tell him to,” Hazare said in New Delhi on Friday.
Following this snub, Mr Parulekar posted his version and Hazare’s unpublished letter on the blog on Saturday morning. Mr Parulekar claimed that Anna had “made up his mind to get away from Kejriwal, Bedi and Prashant Bhusan and their pawns in the core committee.” Mr Parulekar also called Mr Kekriwal, Ms Bedi and Mr Prashant Bhushan “fascist”, “undemocratic” and “opportunistic”.
Reacting to Mr Parulekar’s fresh blog entry, Mr Hazare said that sometime back when there were allegations against Ms Bedi and Mr Bhushan, he had thought of making changes in the committee. “However now I understand that all this is a part of the conspiracy to defame us,” Hazare said on Saturday afternoon in New Delhi.
Mr Hazare had announced that he would close down his blog. However, after reaching his village Ralegan Siddhi on Saturday evening , he made the announcement to launch a new blog, this time to be operated by experts from the village.
Mr. Hazare in his unpublished letter, written in Marathi which is in possession of Mr. Parulekar had talked about “restructuring the core committee” by including people from diverse sections of the society. However Mr Parulekar has claimed that Hazare’s assistant Mr Suresh Pathare prevented him from posting the letter.
“I am going to decide on restructuring the core committee soon. The decision is being conveyed to other members of team Anna,” Hazare had said in his letter.
According to Mr Parulekar, Mr Hazare’s colleagues prevented him from making changes. Mr. Parulekar alleged that “Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Ms. Bedi were so undemocratic, fascist and disrespect (sic) Annaji’s thoughts and thrust their so-called core committee meeting on Annaji and overpowered me when I fought back for Annaji because Annaji is fragile, his Blood Pressure is fluctuating and is unwell,” Mr Parulekar has said.
