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.
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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.”