The RSS appears to have issued a directive to the BJP to extend full support to the Anna Hazare movement. In a clear signal from the Sangh’s Nagpur headquarters on Wedne-sday, the day the BJP top brass took an anti-Hazare line and criticised his call to supporters to picket outside MPs’ houses, the BJP leadership was told it should “back Anna Hazare, both inside and outside Parliament”.
Swami Agnivesh, a member of the Anna core team, told this newspaper that while Mr Hazare was leaving Tihar Jail it was decided, and the Delhi police was informed, that Anna’s hungerstrike “would neither be a fast-unto-death nor an indefinite fast”. He claimed Mr Hazare was “being wrongly advised”, and, referring to Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Prashant Bhushan, said: “Yeh bahut galat kaam ho raha hain (The way things are moving is wrong).” He said: “These people think the movement will fizzle out if Anna breaks his fast.”
Swami Agnivesh said he had stayed away from Ramlila Maidan for the past two days as he was “deeply hurt” by Team Anna’s behaviour. He criticised the protests outside the houses of the Prime Minister, Rahul Gandhi and other MPs, saying he feared these “could turn violent anytime”.