Congress makes a climbdown, opposition tries to cash in

The Congress Party today toned down its criticism of Anna Hazare's crusade against corruption and instead sought to mollify the 72-year-old social activist saying it respected his fight against corruption.

Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said there was nothing wrong with Hazare's agitation, but the Congress would rather support a national debate on the issue.

"It requires a great deal of discussion before a wide consensus is arrived. The bill is a matter of national debate. There is a bill, which the government has brought. Anna Hazare is suggesting something else. There are many views and discussions should happen," she said.

Natrajan's comments were in sharp contrast to the strong criticism of Hazare's agitation by another party spokesperson Manish Tewari, who yesterday said the agitation was "premature" and "unnecessary".

This had forced Hazare to write an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh urging him to stop finding faults and suspect any conspiracies in the movement.
 
Hazare, who has mobilised people across India in his crusade against corruption, said he was pained to read and hear about government's reaction to his stir.

In his letter to the PM, Hazare said he was pained by comments by some people that he was being instigated by some people (meaning the RSS) to sit on this fast.