Hazare to meet Kejriwal, says Rahul welcome to join protest but can't share stage - Hindustan Times

Social activist Anna Hazare, who will participate in a two-day protest against the land ordinance at the Jantar Mantar beginning Monday, has said that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal can join the movement but they will have to sit with the common man.

Kejriwal is unlikely to participate in the protest but may pay Hazare a visit at the Maharashtra Sadan in the capital, where the latter would be stay, Aam Aadmi Party sources said. The AAP would give tacit support to Hazare's movement and provide its volunteers for the protest.

Hazare earlier said the Delhi chief minister had expressed his desire to join the agitation against the "anti-farmer" ordinance. "I told him that workers should not come on the stage, they can join the agitation. We will talk on this in detail as I am meeting him tomorrow (Monday). We will talk and figure out the next plan of action," he told NDTV.

"This ordinance is against the farmers. In an agriculturally dominated nation, when there is torture on the farmers then all the people should stand united. So we want that any opposition party or be it Kejriwal, all the workers should work together to take this agitation forward," Hazare said.

Asked about the Congress wanting to support his movement, the anti-corruption activist said political parties manipulate such situations against each other and if Gandhi wanted to join the agitation, he could sit among the public.

"On February 23, over 20,000 farmers from Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra will assemble at Jantar Mantar for a token dharna. A march from Haryana led by Rajagopal will reach Delhi the next day. Activists like Medha Patkar, Govindacharya, Rajendra Singh and representatives of about 80 organisations will join the dharna thereafter," a news report quoted Hazare as saying.

Hazare's protest gets underway on the day the Budget Session of Parliament begins. "This (land) ordinance is against the farmers and in favour of the corporates. It seems to be 'Achhe Din' only for the corporates," the 77-year-old activist said.