Hazare explains remarks

November 24, 2011 05:03 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 04:04 am IST - Pune

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare on Thursday condemned the attack, but only as a clarification of his earlier statement in which he said, “He [Sharad Pawar] got slapped! Only one slap?” before walking into his room in his hometown Ralegan Siddhi.

Speaking to journalists later in the day, Mr. Hazare said, “I understand the youth's anger. Corruption and price rise has made life difficult. But there is no place for violence in democracy. Our Constitution does not tell us to be violent with anyone.”

Asked about his earlier comment, Mr. Hazare said, “I was asking them if he [Mr. Pawar] was only slapped or anything else had happened to him.” He said he was speaking to the people gathered to meet him, and not to the media.

Speaking to a news channel later in the evening, he said the attack was against principles of democracy. “It was not a slap on Mr. Pawar's face but a slap on democracy.”

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.